Holi (Hindi: होली, Gujarati: હોળી, Kannada: ಹೋಳಿ, Marathi: होळी, Nepali: होली, Punjabi: ਹੋਲੀ, Telugu: హోళి) is also known as Dol Jatra (swing festival") and Bôshonto Utshôb (Bengali: বসন্ত উৎসব) ("spring festival") in Bengal (West Bengal and Bangladesh), Phakua (Assamese: ফাকুৱা) and Dôl Jātrā (Assamese: দ’ল যাত্ৰা) in Assam, Phāgu Pūrṇimā (Nepali: फागु पूर्णिमा) in the hilly region of Nepal, Dola jātra (Odia: ଦୋଳଯାତ୍ରା) in Odisha, Fagua or Phagua (Bhojpuri: 𑂤𑂏𑂳𑂄) in eastern Uttar Pradesh, western Bihar, and northwestern Jharkhand, Phagwah or Phagwa (Caribbean Hindustani: पगवा) in the Caribbean (namely Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and Jamaica), and Phagua (Fiji Hindi: पगवा) in Fiji.

It is a cultural celebration that gives Hindus and non-Hindus alike an opportunity to have fun banter with other people by throwing coloured water and powder at each other.

Holi is celebrated at the end of winter, on the last full moon day of the Hindu luni-solar calendar month, marking the spring, making the date vary with the lunar cycle.

To many Hindus, Holi festivities mark an occasion to reset and renew ruptured relationships, end conflicts, and rid themselves of accumulated emotional impurities from the past.

[5][32] Visitors to homes are first teased with colours, then served with Holi delicacies (such as gujhia, shakkarpaare, matri, and dahi vada), desserts and drinks.

[15] In the Braj region of India, where the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated until Rang Panchmi in commemoration of their divine love for each other.

[10][42] Beyond India, these legends help to explain the significance of Holi (Phagwah), which is common in some Caribbean communities of Indian origin such as Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.

[45] There is a symbolic legend found in the 7th chapter of the Bhagavata Purana[13][14] explaining why Holi is celebrated as a festival of triumph of good over evil in the honour of Hindu god Vishnu and his devotee Prahlada.

Vishnu, the god who appears as an avatar to restore Dharma in Hindu beliefs, took the form of Narasimha – half human and half lion (which is neither a human nor an animal), at dusk (when it was neither day nor night), took Hiranyakashyapu at a doorstep (which was neither indoors nor outdoors), placed him on his lap (which was neither land, water nor air), and then eviscerated and killed the king with his lion claws (which were neither a handheld weapon nor a launched weapon).

Goddess Parvati wanting to bring Shiva back into the world, seeks help from the Hindu god of love called Kamadeva on Vasant Panchami.

[22][32] Holi is of particular significance in the Braj region, which includes locations traditionally associated with Radha Krishna: Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Barsana, and Gokula.

Bahadur Shah Zafar himself wrote a song for the festival, while poets such as Amir Khusrau, Ibrahim Raskhan, Nazeer Akbarabadi and Mehjoor Lakhnavi relished it in their writings.

The extension started the day after the Holi festival in Anandpur Sahib, where Sikh soldiers would train in mock battles, compete in horsemanship, athletics, archery and military exercises.

In 1837, Sir Henry Fane who was the commander-in-chief of the British Indian army joined the Holi celebrations organised by Ranjit Singh.

A mural in the Lahore Fort was sponsored by Ranjit Singh and it showed the Hindu god Krishna playing Holi with gopis.

Intoxicating bhang, made from cannabis, milk and spices, is consumed with a variety of mouth-watering delicacies, such as pakoras and thandai, to enhance the mood of the festival.

[30][75] In Krishna temples, devotees sing devotional songs, perform dances and celebrate with aber (gulal) wearing traditional white and yellow turbans.

On the last day of the festival, large processions are taken out to the main Krishna temple near Imphal where several cultural activities are held.

The art includes drawing tree motifs, flowers, ferns, creepers, plants, peacocks, palanquins, geometric patterns along with vertical, horizontal and oblique lines.

As in other parts of India, in rural Telangana, the 9 days preceding Holi, children celebrate kamuda by playing Kolata sticks along with singing folk songs called jajiri and collect money, rice, corn and wood.

Barsana, a town near Mathura in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh, celebrates Lathmar Holi in the sprawling compound of the Radha Rani Temple.

The songs of the Khari Holi are sung by the people, who, sporting traditional white churidar payajama and kurta, dance in groups to the tune of ethnic musical instruments such as the dhol and hurka.

[106] On the Dol Purnima day in the early morning, students (mainly in Shantiniketan) dress up in saffron-coloured or pure white clothes and wear garlands of fragrant flowers.

[109] Traditional concerts are held in most cities in Nepal, including Kathmandu, Narayangarh, Pokhara, Itahari, Hetauda, and Dharan, and are broadcast on television with various celebrity guests.

Community events by Hindus have been reported by Pakistani media in various cities such as Karachi,[111] Hazara,[112] Rawalpindi, Sindh, Hyderabad, Multan and Lahore.

Artisans produce and sell many of the colours from natural sources in dry powder form, in weeks and months preceding Holi.

[129] Another 2009 study reports that some colours produced and sold in India contain metal-based industrial dyes, causing an increase in skin problems to some people in the days following Holi.

Meanwhile, some commercial companies such as the National Botanical Research Institute have begun to market "herbal" dyes, though these are substantially more expensive than the dangerous alternatives.

In urban areas, some people wear nose masks and sunglasses to avoid inhaling pigments and to prevent chemical exposure to eyes.

[citation needed] The use of heavy metal-based pigments during Holi is also reported to cause temporary wastewater pollution, with the water systems recovering to pre-festival levels within 5 days.