Holi Festival

This weekend the Holi Festival came to Barcelona and I was lucky enough to get to go. It was a wonderful, incredibly happy and energetic experience and I can’t wait till I get to go again. If you ever need a pick me up this is honestly the best thing to do. The positive energy, the happiness, it’s just incredible. There’s almost some sort of magical feeling in the air that recharges you mind, body and soul. I would recommend for everyone to have this experience at least once in their lifetime!!

what is it?

The Holi Festival aka the Festival of Colors aka the Festival of Love is a traditional Hindu spring festival. It’s origins are an ancient spring festival but has now spread all over the world as a spring celebration of love, happiness and colors. It makes the end of winter and the beginning of spring (because like HELLO who wouldn’t love to celebrate that spring is finally here).  Spring brings along with it warmer days, new produce, love and joy so this is certainly a reason to celebrate. The Holi is representative of unity, happiness and excitement in which people dance and bathe and celebrate life in a colorful way. It also celebrates unity, where people from all over, all ages, economic status, colors, shapes and sizes gather together to have fun and enjoy a colorful time.

People paint themselves with tons of colors and throw powder of all different colors in the air to express freedom and to bring color into everyday life. This festival is a celebration of equality, where there is no distinction between sex, race, social class or any other prejudices. It is a free event because the people who organize this event believe that throughout the world there are huge levels of inequality and that everyone should be able to have a day that is fun and colorful and brings in peace and harmony to their lives. (I mean come on, how fricken awesome is that!!)

This year was actually the 5th year that the Holi Festival took place in Barcelona. This festival takes place in 30 cities in 6 different countries, spreading happiness and color all over the world. It was incredible how many people were at the festival here in Barcelona, I could only imagine what it’s like in India. (one day I’d really love to experience it). And the best part about it was… everyone was so truly and genuinely happy it was contagious. I was having a rough day, I found out some crappy news the night before.. and this was exactly what I needed to find my inner happiness and get past it. The Holi Festival for me could not have come at a better time, it really just made me feel so happy and free. I found myself lost in the music, the colors and the people. The energy and happiness that was being given off by the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people surrounding me lifted me out of my funk and into such a state of happiness.

Throughout the whole festival people were constantly just throwing powder at each other, both friends and random people just passing by, and it was such a warm and joyous thing. But three times during the festival was the “color burst”, aka the moment where everyone simultaneously threw their colored powder into the air at once. That might have been the most incredible and overwhelming thing I’ve every experienced. I’m not a particularly religious or spiritual person, but that moment made me feel something, and now I understand the true magic and love of the holi festival.

…if you couldn’t tell this festival made me so so so HAPPY!