Spring has sprung, but how it’s celebrated is different throughout the world. For Hindu students on campus, the start of spring coincides with Holi which begins Sunday.

“Holi is a colorful and happy Hindu festival,” sophomore Akanksha Mehta said. “That symbolizes the beginning of the spring season as well as love and community.”

Celebrated for centuries, Holi marks the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil with the festival known varying as the “festival of spring”, the “festival of color”, and the “festival of love”.

“Holi is usually celebrated for three days,” junior Risha Thimmancherla said. “On the first night, a bonfire is lit to signify the burning of the demon holika.”

The son of the demon king, Prahalad, was a faithful devotee of the god Vishnu. When the demon king asked Prahalad, who was better God or me, Prahalad answered God. 

The demon king was furious and decided to kill his son. He tried multiple times to kill him, and failed, so he asked his sister, Holika, to kill Prahalad. She had a magical power that made her immune to fire, he took her and the boy and sat in the middle of a fire. Since Holika was using her power for evil, her power varnished and Prahalad survived.

“The festival is most famous for its second day,” Thimmancherla said. “Where people gather to throw colored powder at each other [which represents the bonfire from which Prahalad was saved].”

But like most things, nothing is expected to be the same.

“Holi will be different,” Mehta said. “Because there won’t be large crowds of people celebrating together and many places that normally hold celebrations would be closed.”