Holi 2020 Festivities (Photo Credit: Instagram@sanketsjoshi)
New Delhi:
Holi is considered as the second biggest Hindu festival in north India after Diwali. The festival marks the starts of the harvest season and by smearing colours on your loved ones and even enemies, Holi is believed to bring an end to all the negative energy around.
The festival of Holi starts with Holika Dahan when people gather around a bonfire and offer sesame seeds, coconut, puffed rice and sweets made from jagerry. This year Holika Dahan will be celebrated on March 09 by 11.17 PM. According to Drikpanchang.com, the Purnima tithi begins at 3.03 AM and ends at 11.17 PM. Holika Dahan is followed by Rangwali Holi , the main day of celebrations when the masses play with gulal, coloured water ballon, water guns.
Rangwali Holi is also known as Phagwah, Dhuleti, Dhulandi or Dhulivandan. The rituals are same but are observed under different names in different region of India. Holi is the biggest festival in the Brij region consisting of Mathura, Vrindhavan, Gokul, Gowardhan, Barsana and Nandgaon. It is believed that Lord Krishna celebrated the festival with colours in Gokul and Vrindavan with Radha and her friends.
As in some places women armed with lathi hit men in jest, some people also form human pyramid and break pot of colours or buttermilk like in Janmasthami. Rangpanchami is celebrated after 5th day of Holi in Malwa area of Madhya Pradesh. It is celebrated with even more fervor than Holi.
In Vrindavan, Holi is celebrated for a week and it starts with Phoolon wali holi when people get to the streets to splash glower petal sn each other and near the popular pilgrim spot, Banke Bihari temple. This year it starts from 4th March at 4PM.
The Lathmar holi will be observed at Barsana on March 4th and Nandgaon on March 5th.
Also Read: Holi 2020: The ‘Unholy’ Side Of The Colourful Festival No One Wants To Talk About
It is considered highly inauspicious to perform Holika Dahan, the first ritual of Holi before sunset. Ideals Holika Dahan should be observed on Pradosh Kaal when the night or the day meet each other. The exact ios muharat for Holi Dahan varies in different states all over India.
Puja Samagri
For theHoli Dahan puja, you will need the following items:
-Abeer and gulaal of different colours
Earthern Lamps with cotton wicks
Tulsi leaves
Mishri, Gangajaal
Itra aor Incense sticks
Haldi-kumkum
Sandalwood paste
