Holi – March 18
Originally known as ‘Holika,’ Holi is an ancient Hindu festival of India that is one of the most loved and celebrated in the country. Sometimes referred to as the ‘festival of love’ with its vibrancy and positivity, Holi is used as a day to welcome in spring, unite people, and forget all resentments and negative feelings towards each other.
It is believed that the Holi festival and its rituals began several centuries before Christ, with the meaning of the festival evolving over the years. Holi was first a “special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped.”
The festival lasts for a day and a night, starting in the evening of Purnima or the Full Moon Day in the month of Falgun and starts with the lighting of a bonfire one day before the day of Holi. This process symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Holi provides its community a chance to grow closer to their religion and mythology since its legends and stories are the foundation of the celebration. There are five main legends of Holi: Legend of Holika and Prahlad, Legend of Kaamadeva, Legend of Dhundhi, Legend of Radha-Krishna, and Legend of Pootana.
On the actual day of Holi, the community plays with an assortment of colors and in the evening shares love and respect with each other through Abeer.
Learn more about Holi by visiting the official Holi Festival website.
International Nowruz Day – March 21
Nowruz, meaning “new day,” marks the first day of spring with over 300 million people taking part in the celebration of the vernal equinox. For more than 3,000 years in many regions like the Balkans, Black Sea Basin, Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East, Nowruz has been a celebration of the new year.
Nowruz is considered an “ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.” It is centered on the values of peace and solidarity between generations and families. These themes of reconciliation and community further emphasize Nowruz’s part in encouraging cultural diversity and friendship among people of all different identities.
In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed International Nowruz Day a holiday officially recognized each year on March 21st. Based on mutual respect and community, Nowruz is essential to strengthening ties among those who celebrate with traditions and rituals that “reflect the cultural and ancient customs of the civilizations of the East and West, which influenced those civilizations through the interchange of human values.”
Learn more about Nowruz by visiting the United Nations' website dedicated to International Nowruz Day.
Shunbun No Hi (Vernal Equinox Day) – March 21
Shunbun No Hi or Vernal Equinox Day is a public holiday celebrating the first day of spring in Japan. It is part of a seven-day period of festivals called Haru no Higan. Due to needing the most recent astronomical measurements, the date of the holiday is officially declared in February of the previous year.
In 1948, Shunbun No Hi became a secular holiday to comply with Japan’s postwar constitution call of the separation of religion and state. As a part of Haru no Higan, Shunbun No Hi pays tribute to ancestors with rituals that include visiting family grave sites and eating popular foods like botamochi, a traditional Japanese sweet.
Learn more about Shunbun No Hi by visiting the Coto Academy.
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