The India Association of Greater Mobile brought the Hindu festival of colors to Chickasabogue Park on Saturday, March 19, 2011, hosting its annual Holi celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The association supplied the holi colors for the traditional powder-throwing, and the gathering doubled as a cookout — with pakoras off the grill alongside barbecue — plus a full slate of games for attendees of all ages.
The Story Behind the Colors
Holi is a spring religious festival celebrated by Hindus worldwide, also known in Sanskrit as Dhuli Vandana. The signature ritual is joyful abandon: celebrants douse one another in colored powder and colored water, erasing social boundaries for a day.
The festival’s roots reach into Hindu tradition. Bonfires are traditionally lit the night before Holi, recalling the young devotee Prahlad’s miraculous escape after the demoness Holika carried him into a fire — Holika was consumed while Prahlad emerged unharmed, protected by his unshakable devotion to Vishnu. The holiday falls on the last full moon day of the lunar month of Phalguna, landing in late February or March at winter’s end.