Holi Colors 🎨 2023 March 8th

🎨   Holi Colors  🥻

2023     Tuesday, March 08

Traditional Sources of Colors

The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. The playful throwing of natural colored powders, called gulal has a medicinal significance: the colors are traditionally made of neem, kumkum, haldi, bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors. 

Many colors are obtained by mixing primary colors. Artisans produce and sell many of the colors from natural sources in dry powder form, in weeks and months preceding Holi. Some of the traditional natural plant-based sources of colors are:

Orange and red

The flowers of palash or tesu tree, also called the flame of the forest, are typical source of bright red and deep orange colors. Powdered fragrant red sandalwood, dried hibiscus flowers, madder tree, radish, and pomegranate are alternate sources and shades of red. Mixing lime with turmeric powder creates an alternate source of orange powder, as does boiling saffron (kesar) in water. 

Green

Mehendi and dried leaves of gulmohur tree offer a source of green color. In some areas, the leaves of spring crops and herbs have been used as a source of green pigment.

Yellow 

Haldi (turmeric) powder is the typical source of yellow color. Sometimes this is mixed with chickpea (gram) or other flour to get the right shade. Bael fruit, amaltas, species of chrysanthemums, and species of marigold are alternate sources of yellow. 

Blue

Indigo plant, Indian berries, species of grapes, blue hibiscus, and jacaranda flowers are traditional sources of blue color for Holi. 

Magenta and purple

Beetroot is the traditional source of magenta and purple color. Often these are directly boiled in water to prepare colored water.

Brown

Dried tea leaves offer a source of brown colored water. Certain clays are alternate source of brown.

Black

Species of grapes, fruits of amla (gooseberry) and vegetable carbon (charcoal) offer gray to black colors.

Synthetic Colours

Natural colors were used in the past to celebrate Holi safely by applying turmeric, sandalwood paste, extracts of flowers and leaves. As the spring-blossoming trees that once supplied the colors used to celebrate Holi have become rarer, chemically produced industrial dyes have been used to take their place in almost all of urban India. Due to the commercial availability of attractive pigments, slowly the natural colors are replaced by synthetic colors. As a result, it has caused mild to severe symptoms of skin irritation and inflammation. Lack of control over the quality and content of these colors is a problem, as they are frequently sold by vendors who do not know their source.

Holi Powder 

Health Impact

A 2007 study found that malachite green, a synthetic bluish-green dye used in some colors during Holi festival, was responsible for severe eye irritation in Delhi, if eyes were not washed upon exposure. Though the study found that the pigment did not penetrate through the cornea, malachite green is of concern and needs further study

Another 2009 study reports that some colors produced and sold in India contain metal-based industrial dyes, causing an increase in skin problems to some people in the days following Holi. These colors are produced in India, particularly by small informal businesses, without any quality checks and are sold freely in the market. The colors are sold without labeling, and the consumer lacks information about the source of the colors, their contents, and possible toxic effects. In recent years, several nongovernmental organisations have started campaigning for safe practices related to the use of colors. Some are producing and marketing ranges of safer colors derived from natural sources such as vegetables and flowers.

These reports have galvanised a number of groups into promoting more natural celebrations of Holi. Development Alternatives, Delhi and Kalpavriksh, – Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group, Pune, The CLEAN India campaign and Society for Child Development, through its Avacayam Cooperative Campaign have launched campaigns to help children learn to make their own colors for Holi from safer, natural ingredients. 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. However, it may be noted that many parts of rural India have always resorted to natural colors (and other parts of festivities more than colors) due to availability.

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

Environmental impact

An alleged environmental issue related to the celebration of Holi is the traditional Holika bonfire, which is believed to contribute to deforestation. Activists estimate Holika causes 30,000 bonfires every year, with each one burning approximately 100 kilograms (220.46 lbs) of wood. This represents less than 0.0001% of 350 million tons of wood India consumes every year, as one of the traditional fuels for cooking and other uses.

 

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

Influence on other cultures

 Holi is celebrated as a social event in parts of the United States. For example, at Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, NYC Holi Hai in Manhattan, New York^[ and Festival of Colors: Holi NYC in New York City, New York, Holi is celebrated as the Festival of Color, where thousands of people gather from all over the United States, play and mingle.

 

Holi-inspired events

A number of Holi-inspired social events have also surfaced, particularly in Europe and the United States, often organized by companies as for-profit or charity events with paid admission, and with varying scheduling that does not coincide with the actual Holi festival. These have included Holi-inspired music festivals such as the Festival Of Colors Tour and Holi One (which feature timed throws of Holi powder), and 5K run franchises such as The Color Run, Holi Run and Color Me Rad, in which participants are doused with the powder at per-kilometre checkpoints. The BiH Color Festival is a Holi-inspired electronic music festival held annually in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

There have been concerns that these events appropriate and trivialize aspects of Holi for commercial gain—downplaying or completely ignoring the cultural and spiritual roots of the celebration. Organizers of these events have argued that the costs are to cover various key aspects of their events, such as safe color powders, safety and security, and entertainment.

 

Why Colors are used in Holi?
Due to the love story of Krishna and Radha, holi is also celebrated as the day of colored love for couples. ... Red color reflects fertility, blue is the color of Krishna, yellow is the color of turmeric, and green symbolizes the start of spring and something new.

 

Holi 2023     March 8th Wednesday
Holi 2024     March 25th Tuesday
Holi 2025     March 14th  Saturday
Holi 2026     March 4th Wednesday
Holi 2027     March 23rd Tuesday
Holi 2028     March 12th  Sunday
Holi 2029     March 1st     Thursday
Holi 2030     March 20th Wednesday

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi