Getting Ready for Holi

I am starting my preparations for Holi, which is the festival of colors and is celebrated with great enthusiasm by farmers. Holi is known as a harvest time. It is truly a beautiful site, with green farms and colorful flowers!

Holi is celebrated as a day when everyone comes together to celebrate. Social restrictions and gaps are forgotten as people of different backgrounds and economic status celebrates together. A bonfire is prepared the night before Holi. The next day friends and family play together with specially prepared colored powders. These powders are called gulal. Colored water is playfully splashed on each other as well.

I love the spirit of the holidays! The holidays bring back a lot of fun memories from my childhood. My parents loved celebrating any occasion which made them and people around them happy. On Holi, I remember my mother being up very early in the morning to make the preparations for playing with the colors. After all the preparations were done my father would come wake my brother and sisters up by putting gulal on our faces and screaming “Holi hai!” – Which translates into “Happy Holi!”.

On Holi, family, friends and neighbors visit each other throughout the day playing colors. Snacks are offered and a special drink known as thandai (milk and almond drink) is offered.

Holi is on February 28th and today is already 22nd. I am beginning my preparations as we speak! Unless the house is full of the sweet aromas from the dishes you cook, it doesn’t feel like Holi. I like to prepare some traditional holi snacks including gujia, shakkar para, one of the burfi, namak para, and khasta kachori. I will let you know what additional snacks I make. In the meantime, please let me know how you celebrate Holi and what snacks you made!

HAPPY HOLI!