When is Holi 2024? Date, Story, History, Significance and all you need to know

March is the month of colours and festivals. From the Mahashivratri early on to the celebration of Holi during the end of March, this month is filled with fun and happiness. The colours of Holi and the sweetness of the desserts that are made on Holi bring with it a sense of joy and happiness. The auspicious festival of Holi marks the onset of the spring season and comes as a form of renewal, good luck, and positivity.

The festival of Holi is celebrated with a splash of beautiful colours, gulaal, puja and worship, making sweets and of course eating Gujiyas.
On Holi, the streets are coloured in different shades and so are the people celebrating the festival. With white shirts that have now been tie-dyed to faces that were coloured with blue and black, Holi is more than just a festival, it is a grand celebration of happiness and spirit.

Significance of Holi

According to ancient scriptures, the festival of Holi is celebrated as the victory of Lord Narasimha, who was an avatar of Lord Vishnu, on the demon Hiranyakashyap.

According to the popular legend, the demon and king of Asuras, Hiranyakashyap ordered the entire kingdom and the city that whoever will worship Lord Vishnu will be punished and sentenced to death. However, upon finding his son ‘Prahalad’, worshipping Lord Vishnu despite his orders, he became angry and plotted a conspiracy with his sister ‘Holika’ to kill his son, Prahalad. Holika, the aunt of Prahalad, sat with the little boy near a pyre. She cloaked herself with a shawl as she had a boon of not getting harmed by the fire. She tried to throw Prahalad in the fire. However, in the strange turn of events, Holika got burnt to ashes and Prahalad survived due to his deep devotion to Lord Vishnu.

Hiranyakashipu, the king of demons was blessed with a boon that he couldn’t be killed by a human being or an animal, neither during the day nor during the night and neither by the weapons, so, Lord Vishnu took the avatar of ‘Narsimha’, that is hald-man and half-lion, to kill Hiranyakashipu during the sunset.

Another story that is associated with the festival of Holi, particularly the 'Lathmar Holi' of Barsana is that Lord Krishna used to tease and disturb Radha and the gopis along with his friends. And so, in retaliation, they started hitting Shri Krishna with Lath to drive him away. Recalling these little legends and incidents, people of Vrindavan play the 'Lathmar Holi'.

Holi 2024: Date and timings

This year Holi will be celebrated on 25th March (Monday)

Holika Dahan muhurat : 24th March 2024 (11:13pm-11:53 pm)

Holi celebration muhurat : 25th March 2024 (9:54 a.m-12: 29pm)

Holi 2024: Puja and rituals

The festival of Holi, Holika Dahan and playing with colours, is celebrated on two different days. Starting with ‘Holika Dahan’, which falls one day before the celebration of Holi, which is also known as ‘Choti Holi’. This year Holika Dahan will be observed on 24th March after sunset. The rituals of Holika Dahan include the lighting of a bonfire followed by greeting each other and praying for the victory of good over evil.

The rituals of Holika Dahan include collecting a huge pile of wood to light the bonfire and the puja samagri includes cow dung, agarbatti, dhoop, gulal, wheat grains, coconut, and akshat. The 'Holika Sthapana' is done with the help of wood and cow dung and then the idols of holika and prahlad are made. Once the bonfire is lit, people perform pradakshina (circumambulation) and begin the puja by reciting the sacred mantra of Lord Ganesha followed by mantra chanting of Lord Narasimha. While performing the ‘pradakshina’, people offer rice, flowers, turmeric, roli, batashe, gulal, roasted grains, and chickpeas to the bonfire (Holika). The roasted grains offered to Holika are distributed as ‘prasad’ along with gulal. People wish each other ‘Happy Holi’ by applying tilak from gulal. It is believed that performing the puja after the bonfire is lit keeps away all the negativities and bad omens and brings in positivity and good luck.

The day followed by Holika Dahan is widely celebrated as Holi. On the day of Holi, people play with different colours, sing, dance, colour each other with gulaal, drench each other in water with 'Pichkaaris' and water balloons and what not! But, the highlight of the festival is for sure making, eating and distributing Gujiya. A traditional dessert savoured on Holi, Gujiya is a favourite among people no matter what age.
Holi is a festival where one can easily spot large gatherings on streets, with people celebrating the fusion of colours with lots of music and fun. The festival of Holi brings people together and has increasingly become a symbol of unity, joy, victory of good over evil and most of all the perfect blend of tradition and happiness.

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