It was colourful and joyful as one of our teachers, Mrs. Acharya shared her traditional Indian festival with the students in Mrs. Gillis, Grade 2 class to usher-in the spring. The students were seen, all dressed in their colourful attires made of crepe paper, happily dancing and chanting “Holi heh!” meaning, “It’s Holi.”
Mrs. Acharya described “Holi” as an Indian festival of colours, celebrated during spring. She further described it as, a celebration of new beginnings; new life, happiness, and love. Festival of colours is celebrated by everyone: men, women, children, and the elderly. The entire community joins to celebrate this festival of joy (fun) and colour. In some places in India, there is a bonfire in the evening. People in joy dance, sing, and sprinkle colour powders on each other. These brilliant, and dazzling colours are made from traditional and natural plant-based sources such as seeds, fruits, leaves and dried coloured flowers such as marigold, lilies, orchids etc. These colours are sometimes mixed with water and people get to sprinkle the colour mixture among themselves as they chant “holi heh!” During this festival, there is a feeling of inclusiveness, belonging, and a sense of community among people as everyone is covered in these colours looking the same at the end of the celebration. There is also, lots of food to share such as Indian sweets, crispy and spicy dishes, and a variety of beverages.
The students and staff used multi-colored crepe paper in place of actual colours, to celebrate this festival, and relished the Holi delicacies such as peperoni pizza, vegan pizza, fruit juice and had lots of fun.
Thank you Mrs. Acharya for sharing your culture with us. It was so much fun!