Hindus Celebrate Holi, Mixing Color with Cold

March 19, 2005

Source: Beliefnet/The Globe and Mail

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/163/story_16303_1.html

On March 19, 2005 The Globe and Mail reported, "Next Saturday morning, when Himanshu Vyas leaves home to meet a few of his friends, he'll bring along a packet of bright red powder. When he sees them, he'll dip his fingers in the powder and smear a generous daub on their faces, hands and any other patches of exposed skin within his reach. His friends will reciprocate the greeting by smearing him with their own caches of green and yellow powder. Then they'll head to the York University campus, where the dry-powder streaks will give way to splashes of colored water, and maybe even a rainbow-hued snowball fight. It's all done in the name of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, which actually falls on Friday. But Mr. Vyas is celebrating it on Saturday out of respect for some of his friends and fellow students who are Christian. Friday is also, after all, Good Friday, and when you're celebrating Holi in Canada, you sometimes have to make concessions."