Contact
||| This Friday, students in Gr 1 through Gr 8 had the opportunity to have a taste of a very popular festival called Holi which is celebrated in India and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The Indian parents of children in N-3rd, along with their teachers, brought this festival last year. It was so playful and colorful, all other grades asked to share in the joy.
Holi is essentially a festival to commemorate the beginning of spring and has roots among agricultural communities. The legend behind it marks the triumph of good over evil. It is quite a “boundary-crossing” festival, in the same sort of spirit as mischievous leprechauns and pinching on St. Patrick’s Day. Instead of pinching, colored, non toxic and water washable powder (or sometimes colored liquid) is thrown at each other. Many people wear white on this day so that the vibrant colors of spring are even more conspicuous on their clothing. (Some even pride themselves on how colorful they can become!) There is a lot of laughter and chasing involved. It is also a way to heal differences or grudges with laughter and good-natured sparring. As a welcome to spring, it is also accompanied by cleaning up and cleansing the home (similar to spring cleaning here in the West).
We did have a designated “safe zone”—something you will not find in India on this day! Students welcomed the spring with so much joy!
In the spirit of Spring,
Ms Hurdle
