India is a popular tourist destination famous for its colorful customs and the “Festival of Colors” as well. Holi is a vibrant colorful festival celebrated to welcome the spring season by throwing colors and spray color paint on each other. There are several top tourist destinations in India for celebrating Holi with locals.
Fictionally, the festival celebrates the death of demon Holika by Prahalathan, a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Cultural music and dance performances, puppet shows, music parties, and much more are enjoyed as a part of the festival celebration. However, the festival is celebrated throughout the country which is enjoyed as an exclusive festival in only a few states of the country, especially in Rajasthan tour packages.
About Holi
The main importance or significance of the “Colorful Festival” is that it marks the arrival of the Harvest or Spring season. There are two main rituals of this festival – Holika Dahan and Rangwali Holi. The colorful festival is mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Hindu Mythology. The joyous festival is full of excitement and exuberance dates back to almost the 4th century. There’s also an ancient mythological famous play, known as Ratnaval where the scenes of Holi are described well.
Dates of Festival: 14th March Monday 2025
History
The festival name of Holi is taken from the name of the mythological female demon known as “Holika”, According to the scriptures from the Vedas, the female demon died burning when she tried to burn her demon brother King Hiranyakashyap’s son. To celebrate the victory over evil, the next day people smeared each other’s faces with her ashes that remained in the fire as a symbolic ritual. Over time, this turned to color the faces of each other with different colors during this festival period.
Rituals of Holi Festival
People usually think that Holi is all about coloring each other but many other rituals take place. The rituals performed during the festival are practiced among many people’s associations and even organizations. Each of these has a unique significance towards something that ever happened in mythological times. The following are the most popular rituals of the Holi Festival in Rajasthan Tour Package-
Smearing colorful powder on each Other
One of the most amazing ways to celebrate Holi of all religions and castes. This form of celebration has also been incorporated in various celebrations and ceremonies all across the world for many different purposes. This ritual has a mythical connection to the story of Holika, the female demon, and her demon brother.
Throwing colorful water on People
There’s also another story to this regarding throwing the powder and even drenching girls in water on Holi. It was also known for many adolescents of his ages, Lord Krishna was also very mischievous in his ways. It is also mythologically depicted that he played pranks on girls and even drenched them with water. In Mathura Vrindavan Tour you can enjoy an amazing Holi celebration in India where the festival is celebrated vibrantly.
Matka Phod and Human Pyramid
Another event of Holi celebration that people wait eagerly for during this festival. The custom is performed in the northern and western states of India like Punjab and Maharashtra. The matka is an earthen pot filled with buttermilk which is held by rope at an appropriate height. Then people create a pyramid to break the pot.
Lathmar Holi
This is a wonderful ritual of celebrating where the men annoy the female and then get beaten up by lathis in return. This also has a mythical connection where the Gopis, Krishna, and Radha are involved in this ritual. Lathmar literally means beating with sticks which are mostly celebrated in Northern India especially in Mathura UP known as the “birthplace of Lord Krishna”. The town of Barsana and Nandgaon awaits this festival to celebrate; they replay this mythical tale as loud music and celebrations play in the backdrop.
Holika Dahan
The festival of Holi lasts for 2 days but the rituals and Holika Dahan celebrations happen days before the main festival. On the full moon evening of Holi, there is one custom carried out at many places by people who collect wooden logs, put them in a heap, and light up a pyre. This burning is symbolic of the burning of Holika famously known as Holika Dahan and preparations for this ritual starts before.
In Conclusion
Holi is a fun-filled celebration and is usually enjoyed by a group of people in the Rajasthan Group Tour Package. The best places to participate in the Holi festival is where you can witness some craziest Holi celebrations like Jaipur, Vrindavan, Delhi, Udaipur, Uttarakhand, etc. All the near and dear ones gather at one place and enjoy this amazing colorful festival with utmost fervor and gala.