Festival of Colors Sat. March 30

[Guest guest]

HOLI, The Festival of Colors

The Krishna temple in Spanish Fork invites all members of the public to

celebrate the festival of Holi on Saturday, March 30th, from 4 pm.

Anuradha Prabhasankher from Lasya Dance Company of San Francisco will

present the stories behind this festival in a classical Indian dance format.

Other elements of the festival will be observed with storytelling, musical

interludes, the building of a bonfire, and the throwing of dry colors on

friends and foe alike. The dry powders supplied by the temple are non

stain, but still guests are cautioned not to wear their ³Sunday Best.²

Afterwards, everyone will enjoy a sumptuous vegetarian feast. If possible,

guests are asked to bring a small offering of fruit, flower, or even a

cooked vegetarian preparation to augment the huge feast.

In India Holi announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter. It

is a festival that breathes an atmosphere of social merriment. People bury

their hatchets with a warm embrace and throw their worries to the wind.

Every nook and corner presents a typically colorful sight.

Young and old alike are drenched with colors (red, green, yellow, blue,

black and silver). People in small groups are seen singing, dancing and

throwing colors on each other.

Holi has long traditional links with several legends. According to one

popular legend, the word Holi is derived from the demoness, Holika. She was

the sister of Hiranya Kashipu (the name meaning love of gold and a soft

bed), a demon king, who having defeated the Gods, proclaimed his supremacy

over everyone else in the Universe. Enraged over his son, Prahlad's ardent

devotion to Lord Vishnu, Hiranya Kashipu decides to punish him. He takes the

help of his sister, Holika, who is immune to any damage from fire. Holika

carries Prahlad into the fire but a divine intervention destroys her and

saves Prahlad from getting burned. Thus Holi is celebrated to mark the

burning of the evil Holika. It is a celebration of the triumph of good over

evil.

Holi is celebrated with special importance in the North of India. It

solemnizes the love of Radha and Krishna. The spraying of colored powders

recalls the love sport of Lord Krishna and His devotees..

The color, noise and entertainment that accompanies the celebration of Holi

bears witness to a feeling of oneness and sense of brother-hood. No other

festival brings home the lesson of spiritual and social harmony as well as

the festival of Holi!!

To help the temple construction fund, a suggested donation will be asked

for the full course meals served throughout , and bags of colors will be

given for $1.00 donation. For more information, call (801)798-3559