Holi Traditions Around the World

One of the most significant holidays in India is Holi, which is celebrated with great excitement. The festival of colours is set to pique people’s imaginations as spirits are at an all-time high around the country. Holi is symbolic of celebrating the beautiful aspects of life such as the triumph of good over evil, colours, fertility and love. It is that soothing time of the year when winter transitions into summer, marking the harvest season’s beginning. The root of the word ‘Holi’ lies in the Latin word ‘Hola’ which means showing gratitude to the god for the growing season. Regarded as the festival of colours, it is no surprise that Holi is celebrated all over the world with the utmost zest. Let us now look at the various Holi traditions around the world with which people celebrate this beautiful festival. 

USA 

To experience the beautiful spirit of Holi like that of India, the Indian community in the USA organize large meet-ups so that people can enjoy themselves as a community and don’t miss out on the fun and energy of this festival. Apart from this the local temples and the Indian student association host various small celebratory events. The two popular large-scale events held at the time of Holi in the USA are:

1. Houston Holi: Holi events in Texas are quite popular as a large number of people come together to play with colours. There are also rides for children and dance performances. All in all the whole event is like a carnival. 
2. Utah-based Holi celebration: This Holi event is organized by ISKCON, which is one of the largest Holi celebrations in the entire country. Although they organize Holi events at many places, ISKON is especially famous for their Utah-based Belur Math-style Krishna temple. 

Also Read: Holi Celebration in Foreign Countries- A Brief for International Students to Celebrate Holi like NRIs

Oxford University

At Oxford University students celebrate the beautiful festival of Holi with open arms promoting inclusivity and the idea of finding beauty in differences. Even the Non-Indian students get together with Indian students to embrace the beauty of colours while accepting the different traditions and cultures eliminating all boundaries. The celebration reconnects the NRI students back to their roots while bonding with their fellow batchmates. 

Canada

Canada is home to a large Punjabi community for whom Holi marks the beginning of the harvest season signifying fertility. Since back at home, Holi for the people of Punjab is a significant festival, Punjabis in Canada try to bring the same spirit of Holi by celebrating it with utmost fervour. People gather together as a community and light bonfires, sing, dance, eat, and play with powdered colours also called gulal while spraying each other with water. 

At a national level also, Holi celebrations has been given recognition in Canada as the Canadian Parliament joined the spirit of the festival by decorating the parliament complex for the first time in 2017.

Australia

To make sure people find everything they need to celebrate Holi, there are many supermarkets in Australia – SuperBazaar, Rachel and India at Home – where Holi-related things are easily available. 

Holi is celebrated at a large scale in the city of Melbourne where people get together and play with colours and water guns. In addition to this, there are many events organized by the Hindu Council of Australia.

Also Read: Happy Holi 2023: Splash into the Spring with the Queen Festival of Colors!

Singapore 

The fact that Tamil is one of the official languages of Singapore makes the importance of the Indian community quite obvious. To embrace the beauty of different traditions, locals join the celebrations of Holi with a lot of excitement. Watercolour fights are a common scene at the time of Holi in Singapore. Celebrating the festival of Holi as a community by embracing different traditions definitely promotes the idea of inclusivity in all its glory. Though the celebrations might not match the exact vibes of India, the festive events in Singapore certainly are events to look forward to.

Barcelona 

This beautiful city of Spain celebrates the spirit of Holi in its own way by adding an essence of Spain to the Indian celebrations of Holi. Instead of playing with colours, they lather each other with tomatoes. This is known as the Tomatina festival. The locals join the celebrations with utmost enthusiasm enhancing the vibes of Holi.

                             Kickstart the Fiestas with the World Festivals Quiz!

FAQs

The festival of Holi brings together people from different walks of life to celebrate some of the important aspects of life such as fertility, the victory of good over evil, the beauty of colours, the importance of community and so much more. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that this beautiful festival of colours is celebrated all around the globe with various traditions. 

This is everything you need to know about the different Holi traditions around the world. Make sure you follow Leverage Edu for more such interesting and informative articles.