New Brunswick Free Public Library Presents:

Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors

Save the Date:
Saturday, April 12, 2025, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

This year's festival is currently being planned; please check back for details!

In partnership with New Brunswick Cultural Center Inc. and Rutgers Indian Graduate Student Association, the library presented its 15th annual Holi Festival on April 13, 2024. This program featured music and dance performances, henna, face painting, sampling of Indian food, and Holi color play. View photos taken by library staff and Lindy Zeledon in our Flickr album here, and photos from a professional photographer at United Visual Media here. Enjoy a video by Priscilla Senger from the Daily Targum here:

This project is supported in part by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Our additional program sponsors include AARP, South Asian Total Health Initiative, Bikanervala, Bollywood Tadka, Delhi Garden, Mejwaani, Mithaas, Pooja Restaurant, Urban Rasoi, Navrang Dance Academy, Sanskruti School of Cultural Dance, TV ASIA, and WRSU 88.7 FM Rutgers Radio.

For more information, contact Kavita Pandey at 732-745-5108 x29 or kavita@nbfpl.org.

New Brunswick Free Public Library

What is Holi?

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's Social Significance

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.

Holi Legend

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]

New Brunswick Free Public Library

Recognition for New Brunswick Free Public Library's Holi Festival

Our library's Holi Festival has received several recognitions, and it has been named as one of the top 10 places to celebrate Holi festival in the world!

The State of New Jersey General Assembly in 2013 and 2015 also passed proclamations acknowledging and paying tribute to our library's Holi Festival.

New Brunswick Free Public Library was selected as a winner of the 2018 Multicultural Program Award. According to the New Jersey State Library, the Multicultural Award “recognizes library programs that increase understanding and promote diversity and multiculturalism in New Jersey’s libraries. The ultimate goal of the program is to share the libraries’ programs as models for inspiration and adaptation by other libraries.”

USA Today: 10 Great Places to Celebrate Hindu Festival of Holi

Tap Into New Brunswick: New Brunswick Public Library Celebrates Holi, the Indian Festival of Colors

Thank you to all who helped with the success of previous years' festivals!
View photos of the 2023 festival by photographer Mahesh at this link; view photos taken by library staff on our Flickr page. Watch the recording of the 2023 event on our YouTube channel.
View a recording of the 2022 festival here. View our Flickr album for the 2022 festival here. View our Flickr album for the 2022 virtual painting workshop here.

In 2021, we held a Virtual Holi Festival, which you can watch on YouTube here.