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Holika Dahan
The bonfire on the eve of Holi, burned in memory of Holika, and a night when ash and the fire are used as protection.
About Holika Dahan
On the full-moon evening before the colour festival, communities build a pyre of wood and dung cakes, with an effigy of Holika, the demoness who tried to burn the devotee-child Prahlada and was herself consumed. A priest lights the fire at an auspicious time, and people walk around it, throw in new grain and coconut, and take home embers and ash. The ash is believed to protect the house and to ward off illness, and in some places people smear a little on the forehead. Many see the fire as burning away the old year's grudges and bad luck. The next day, Holi proper, is the festival of colours and spring.
Also part of it, and being written: Holi (The colour festival the bonfire opens.), Holika (The demoness of the story.), Prahlada (The devotee she tried to burn.).
More entries linked to Holika Dahan
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Holi" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kumkum: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source