Such brilliant traditions those Indians have. Since returning from India, I have certainly picked up some new habits—most notably the daily making of chai over the stove. Sure, I only make it once a day compared to their 8-10 times and my one cup of chai has been American-sized to equal about 3-4 of theirs… but it is fantastic: slicing and crushing all the spices, boiling the tea and milk, the smell and of course the caffeine.
I digress…. Holi—a fun holiday where you paint each other in vibrant colored powders. Kind of like a giant food fight but with harmless bright color and some water balloons. Not at all related to the Easter traditions—but you do end up looking like a human Easter egg and like Easter, the day is determined by the lunar calendar. Good times.
I was told the reason behind Holi and how it started but am unsure of the details. If someone totally unfamiliar with US traditions and holidays asked me how Halloween started and why we dress up as goblins and fairy princesses then go door to door asking for candy or threatening vandalism… I could probably produce some sort of answer. Don’t know if it would be accurate. At this point I don't know if we need a reason- we just celebrate Halloween and appreciate it for the fund and tradition of it all. Same goes for Holi.
Anyhow- I loved Holi Hai. Mita and Sumit served delicious Indian cuisine for lunch and all-in-all we had a fantastic time playing outside in the beautiful Austin sunshine. Very fun, the kiddos loved it and the powder didn’t even stain my skin! But I did get some really strange looks when I popped into Lowe’s on my way home to pick up some sweet potato vine. I quickly decided to just head back home… that maybe the general population was not ready for human sized Easter eggs.
I digress…. Holi—a fun holiday where you paint each other in vibrant colored powders. Kind of like a giant food fight but with harmless bright color and some water balloons. Not at all related to the Easter traditions—but you do end up looking like a human Easter egg and like Easter, the day is determined by the lunar calendar. Good times.
I was told the reason behind Holi and how it started but am unsure of the details. If someone totally unfamiliar with US traditions and holidays asked me how Halloween started and why we dress up as goblins and fairy princesses then go door to door asking for candy or threatening vandalism… I could probably produce some sort of answer. Don’t know if it would be accurate. At this point I don't know if we need a reason- we just celebrate Halloween and appreciate it for the fund and tradition of it all. Same goes for Holi.
Anyhow- I loved Holi Hai. Mita and Sumit served delicious Indian cuisine for lunch and all-in-all we had a fantastic time playing outside in the beautiful Austin sunshine. Very fun, the kiddos loved it and the powder didn’t even stain my skin! But I did get some really strange looks when I popped into Lowe’s on my way home to pick up some sweet potato vine. I quickly decided to just head back home… that maybe the general population was not ready for human sized Easter eggs.
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