Please join us for a vibrant, fun-filled celebration of the Indian festival of colors! This program is free and open to all ages. There will be music and dance performances, henna, children's activities, and Holi color play! (*Check back for details for the next festival!)
Thank you to all who made this year's festival a success!
View our Flickr album for the 2022 festival here.
Before the outdoor festival, we had a virtual painting workshop by professional artist Medha on Friday, March 25th at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
View our Flickr album for the 2022 virtual painting workshop here.
Please contact librarian Kavita Pandey at kavita@lmxac.org or 732-745-5108 x20 with any questions.
Holi has been celebrated in India for centuries, going back to the 4th century CE. It is celebrated on the day after the last full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna. Phalguna falls between late February and early March. Known as the festival of colors, Holi celebrates the arrival of spring and thanksgiving for a good harvest. In 2021, Holi begins March 28.
Holi helps to bring the society together and strengthen our country. This festival is also celebrated by non-Hindus, as anyone can be part of this colorful and joyous festival. The tradition during Holi is that even enemies turn friends and forget any hardship that may be present. During Holi there is no difference between rich and poor, everyone celebrates the festival with a spirit of friendliness and brotherhood. On the evening of Holi, people visit friends and family. They exchange gifts, sweets, and greetings. This helps in renewing relationships and strengthening emotional bonds between people. The festival of Holi is predominantly a festival of fun.
The name Holi comes from “Holika”, the sister of demon King “Hiranyakashyap” There are different versions of Holi’s origin. One popular version of the story is that Holi celebrates the Hindu god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad. In this story the evil king Hiranyakashipu became so powerful that he forced his kingdom to worship him as their god. Even though the king forced everyone to worship him, his son Prahlada continued to be an avid devotee of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. The angry king conspired with his sister, Holika, to kill his son. Holika was immune to fire. She tricked Prahlada to sit in a pyre with her. When the pyre was lit, the boy’s devotion to Lord Vishnu helped him walk away unharmed while Holika burned to death despite her immunity. This is the victory of good versus evil. [Source: https://www.holifestival.org/legend-holika-prahlad.html]