Hey everyone, and welcome to Holi! The SMT and NT have teamed up to bring you some fun activities! Let's get started! Shout out to baileyyrosee for the layout!

Holi (also known as the festival of colors) is a religious festival celebrated by Hindus mainly in India and Nepal. The festival celebrates the victories of good vs evil as well as marking the beginning of spring. The festival lasts for two days, starting on the Purnima (full moon) in the Hindu month of Phalguna, which falls somewhere between the end of February and beginning of March. 

The celebration starts on the night before Holi with Holika Dahan, a large ceremonial bonfire where people pray for the evil inside them to be vanquished by celebrating the burning of Holika (a demon who was burnt to death with help from the god Vishnu). 

The second day of Holi is where the "festival of colors" comes in. People take part in Rangwali Holi, or "play holi", where everyone, regardless of age, gender, social standing or relations, splash colored powder called Gulal (also called Abeer) all over each other and the streets. Groups of people carry around large drums and everyone has a blast dancing and getting covered head to toe with colors. There is a variety of ways to spread the color, including dry colours, water balloons mixed with colors, and a mixture of water and colors in a large syringe like instrument called pichkari (which are mainly used by children). Many people like to create beautiful patterns on the ground using colored sand, flour, and various other materials. These pieces of art are called Rangoli.

After the playing with colors fun is over, everyone settles down to enjoy some gujiya, mathri, malpus, and other traditional foods. The adults enjoy a traditional creamy milk drink that contains Bhang, a type of herb. This drink is called Thandai. 

Although this fun and bright festival is traditionally Hindu, places around the world have begun adapting their own versions of playing holi. In fact, next month my city in Canada is hosting a holi festival and I plan to take part!

Make sure to keep your eyes on the SMT pages today for some surprises!