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Lets talk about the New Year on the Hindu calendar. Like many ancient peoples, the followers of this religion met it in spring, when the nature is waking up. And more specifically – Holly comes with spring full-moon phalguna, which falls in February – March.

PRAHLADY’s SALVATION
Mysterious India has many faces, as well as Holly. In each area it is «arranging» in different way. The entire festival is more pageant, perhaps, in the north-west, and less pageant in the south. And even on the question of which of the multitude of gods, primarily dedicated to Holly, every region of the country gives its response.

The most common myth about this topic is that the history of boys named Prahlada, the son of the king of demons Hiranyakashipy. It is happened that he refused to accept the divine status of his father and started worship to Vishnu. Irate governor commanded Holike to burn the boy. She couch Prahlada and rise into the great fire and started waiting (Holika cast protection from fire). But Vishnu heard the passionate pleas of his worshiper and made him impervious to flame, and also destroyed the demon’s protection of Holiki. And after himself descended from heaven to earth and killed the invincible Hiranyakashipu. So during the day of Holly, many Indians welcomes the death of Holiki and Prahladu rescue. So the key moment of the holiday (in some places, it takes up to two weeks) is the burning of the evil demon’s guy.

The areas where Krishna have more worshipers, in particular near the city of Mathura in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where it is believed, he spent his childhood and adolescence, Holly is associated with this God. Fable tells that young gadabout loved any kind of monkey tricks. For example, he painted his friends and girlfriends.

ALL colors of the rainbow
Of course, it should prepare for such an important day in advance, accurately even with the previous full moon – magha (January – February). Indian sing special songs on Holly, which glorified the victory of Vishnu, mourning the death of Kama, and so on. Northerners at the same time begin to prepare for the bonfire and the burning of the king of demons sisters – collecting firewood, trash, rags … Krishna’s Worshipers add balls of cow dung, symbolizing Krishna herds participated in the fight against Holika.

Generally Holly’s fires burn everywhere – just to mark the «death of the year». In phalgunsk’s full moon in front of each house dig the holes. According to tradition the first light this mixture of burial near raja palace, and then the fire had spread to ordinary homes.

Such Fun
So, this is the most democratic holiday in India. Where the entire year of the strictest social laws, on Holly, you can pour a red dress of the officials pushing to puddle scientist Brahman. However, many people of the higher castes stay at home, and eats the family ritual gudiya – triangular pastries with cheese and candied fruits, baked in oil.
Regardless of how you spent the previous hour – is necessarily wash with water at night, warmed up on the «fire Holly». A wash color, dressed in a smart dress and go to each other in the visitors – at the holiday feast.

In the south, in Madras, sing about burned Kama by Shiva. In doing so, men scold women expressing the distaste of Shiva to this gender. Historians believes that swearing is recalls Indians the complex times of relations between the local people and nomads, and crying in turn, reflects the ancient wives weeping whose husbands had left to conquer new territories and did not comeback.

Generally speaking the day after the burning of Holika called dhuvald, from dhul – «ash». On this day, many Indians throws to each other not colored powder, but ash and dirt. Women drop out of the ash in water, symbolizing their aversion for demonesse, and men sing obscene songs about the fun of Krishna with shepherdess insulting upon of all the representatives of weaker gender. But marathsky people, for example, are busy with more serious things: they pray for all the fallen ever in the fight and dances around a campfire with naked swords. This day in some region sacrifices goat in the of the god… In general, the unity of Holly is its diversity.