Happy Holi: Indian festival marks return of spring

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 16, 2025 3:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

People gathered astatine École Mathieu-Martin in Dieppe connected Sunday to observe Holi, an Indian festival featuring bursts of colour.

The Hindu festival of Holi, besides known arsenic the Festival of Colours, marks the opening of spring.

It honours the Hindu deities Krishna and his consort Radha. Celebrators often propulsion gulal, oregon coloured powder, connected each other.

Ketan Raval, the lawsuit organizer and a subordinate of Indo-Canada Association of the Greater Moncton Area, said it's 1 of the largest festivals celebrated successful India.

"The doctrine is that erstwhile you spray the colour connected everyone's face, everyone is equal," helium said.

Sunday's festival featured Indian music, dance, games and food. Many children were present. Raval said 1 of the goals is to assistance them recognize the culture. 

Shabdita Saha said the Holi festival is simply a mode of bringing the assemblage together.

"We privation to clasp our culture, the aforesaid clip the Canadian culture, too."

She said the festival tin besides assistance newcomers who mightiness beryllium feeling homesick.

"This is simply a large mode of bringing them unneurotic and telling them that although they are acold from home, they are not away, we are each determination for them successful lawsuit they request anything."

Nine-year-old Shaanvia Saswat said she wanted to be the festival for amusive and to spot her friends.

"Since this is simply a festival, you play with your friends and speech gifts, which is precise exciting," she said.

"Celebrating the culture, it gives maine a feeling, adjacent though I'm precise acold from my country, it gives maine a feeling I'm inactive successful my state and I'm ne'er going to permission my religion and country."

Eleven-year-old Samruddhi Raval said Holi is her favourite festival due to the fact that it's a way to conscionable people, but besides an accidental to devour immoderate tasty food

"You person amazing, delicious, scrumptious food. It's truthful good. And you play with colours, that's the champion part."

Like Shaanvia, Samruddhi said Holi helps her consciousness person to home.

"It conscionable reminds maine of India," she said. "It's conscionable amazing."