Source: Napa Valley Register
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_2e417c84-2b3d-11df-a8c1-001cc4c03286.html
Dusting each other with colored powders to celebrate an ancient holiday from across the world, dozens of people gathered in American Canyon Sunday for the Holi Festival, a Hindu rite that marks the arrival of spring.
With greetings of “Happy Holi!,” three dozen people painted each other with bright red, green, yellow and pink plant-based powders at Gadwall Park west of Highway 29. Sunday marked the first time the festival was publicly celebrated in American Canyon, home to a growing Punjabi community.
Holi, one of the biggest festivals in India, is a time of renewal, when the community gets together to laugh and when enemies patch up their differences. According to one of the many legends, the festival commemorates the unsuccessful attempt by demon King Hiranyakashyap to murder his son, a faithful devotee of Vishnu, in a fire — or the triumph of good over evil.