"You celebrate Holi because you're celebrating spring altogether."
Shri Sookdeo
Washington Park was still covered in snow this past Sunday, but that did not deter festival-goers from gathering to celebrate Holi, the Hindu spring festival, and the start of their new year.
"Although Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival, it holds a unique meaning in today’s generation," said Pavitri Dwivedi, a Hindu who grew up in Connecticut. "This spring festival has become a global celebration to bring many communities together on a common medium."
The festival exuded a feeling of inclusion and acceptance. Upon arriving at the park, all were greeted with hugs, warm wishes for a Happy Holi, and a heavy dusting of powder.
Holi, also known as the festival of love, is one of the most popular festivals observed by all, “without any distinction of caste, creed, status, color, sex, doesn’t matter. You celebrate Holi because you’re celebrating spring altogether,” said Shri Sookdeo, the priest at the Waterbury Hindu Temple.
The day-long festival consisted of music, dancing, homemade food, drinks, and a raffle to raise money for the temple. Attendees celebrated by playing practical jokes on each other and covering each other in colorful powder.
The powder is traditionally made out of colorful medicinal herbs to help ward off sickness during the change of seasons. These days, the colors are more commonly used to reflect the beauty and vibrancy of spring.
Waterbury resident Bhasbee Sewgoolam said the night before the festival, they build a bonfire and throw grains, coconut, rice, and other foods into the fire as an offering of gratitude.
“That’s nature; it burns and goes back into the air. We die, and go back into the earth,” said Sewgoolam. The ashes from that fire are rubbed on everyone’s foreheads during the festival the following day to bring good luck.
The celebration of Holi in Waterbury was sponsored by the Waterbury Hindu Temple, a temple that comprises mainly Hindus from the South American country of Guyana. Holi is growing worldwide as groups have begun incorporating the use of colored powder into non-religious events, including the Color in Motion 5k Run, which takes place in Hartford this June.
"It welcomes citizens from various backgrounds to join a movement to celebrate life through a little splash of color! The famous saying, 'Live Colorfully' truly comes alive on this day," said Dwivedi.
The spring celebration continues on March 14, when all are welcome to celebrate Holi at the Hindu Cultural Center of Connecticut in Stratford.
Kelsie Bissell is an intern at WNPR.