Holi facts for kids

Holi is one of the major festivals of Hindus. It is celebrated in many parts of India, but especially in the north of India. The festival is celebrated for two to three days. People pour colored water on each other and cook many types of sweets and other food. Holi is celebrated in the spring season because it is welcoming spring. They believe spring is full of colours so they throw coloured water on each other.

Holi is based on a legend about King Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashyap had a son, Prahlad. Prahlad was the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap wanted to kill his son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister to sit on a burning fire along with Prahlad. He thought that his sister would not be harmed by the fire because of the magic robe and Prahlad would be burnt to death. But the result was the opposite to what the evil demon king planned.

As is believed, no one can harm the person who has God as his saviour. Thus Prahlad came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death.The other day is celebrated with joyful colours to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.

The festival is celebrated for five days. The 5th day, Rang Panchami, marks the closing day of the Holi festival.

Images for kids

Holika bonfire in front of Jagdish Temple in Udaipur, Rajasthan, 2010
Radha and the Gopis celebrating Holi, with accompaniment of music instruments
Holi snacks and drinks, post play with colours. Left: salty snacks, Middle: Gujia (a stuffed energy wrap), Right: Thandai (almonds-based chilled drink) to which sometimes intoxicating "bhang" is added.
Shops start selling colours for Holi in the days and weeks beforehand.
In the Braj region of North India, women have the option to playfully hit men who save themselves with shields; for the day, men are culturally expected to accept whatever women dish out to them. This ritual is called Lath Mar Holi.
Friends form groups on Holi, play drums and music, sing and dance, as they move from one stop to another.
Basanto Utsav at Jorasanko Thakurbari.
"Celebration of Spring by Krishna and Radha", 18th-century miniature; in the Guimet Museum, Paris
Colour Drenched Gopis in Krishna Temple, Mathura
A play of colours then a dance at a Hindu temple near Mathura, at Holi.
A natural dye-based Holi in Pune, an alternative to synthetic colours.
Holi celebrations, Pushkar, Rajasthan.
Dol Khela in Kolkata at Thakurbari
An 1822 drawing showing elevation of a black stone arch in Puri, Odisha. It carried Vaishnavite gods and goddess, the ritual noted to be a part of the Holi festival.
Children celebrating Holi at Pune city, in Maharashtra
Holi Celebration in Andhra Pradesh.
Selfie of family celebrating Holi
Preparing for Holika Dahan, Kathamandu, Nepal.
Locals Celebrating Holi In Kathmandu, Nepal
A celebration of Holi Festival in the United States.
Drummers of Indo-Caribbean community celebrating Phagwah (Holi) in New York City, 2013
Flowers of Dhak or Palash are used to make traditional colours
Colours for Holi on sale at a market in Mysore.
A young man celebrating Holi