Festival of Colors 2011

I went to my second ever Festival of Colors. It was a ton of fun. Lots of people went and of course there was lots of chalk EVERYWHERE. People have asked my what the whole thing is about and I was never good at explaining it so I found out a little more about it. 

The Tradition

In India, Holi announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter.

Krishna" is a non sectarian name for the Supreme which means "All Attractive." "Rama" is another name for God which means "Highest Pleasure Absolute." "Hare" is an invocative term, a way of addressing the Lord.

The Legend of Holi

Holi has long traditional links with several legends. According to one popular legend, the word Holi is derived from the demoness, Holika. She was the sister of Hiranya Kashipu , a demon king, who having defeated the Gods, proclaimed his supremacy over everyone else in the Universe. Enraged over his son’s ardent devotion to Lord Vishnu, Hiranya Kashipu decides to punish him. He takes the help of his sister, Holika, who is immune to any damage from fire. Holika carries the small boy Prahlad into the fire but a divine intervention destroys her and saves Prahlad from getting burned. Thus Holi is celebrated to mark the burning of the evil Holika. Her effigy is consumed in the fire!

Holi is celebrated with special importance in the North of India. It solemnizes the love of Radha and Krishna. The spraying of colored powders recalls the love sport of Lord Krishna and His devotees.

The color, noise and entertainment that accompanies the celebration of Holi bears witness to a feeling of oneness and sense of brotherhood. The festival brings home the lesson of spiritual and social harmony!!

So like tradition we welcomed in Spring (even though it was cold outside and had snowed the day before) and spread the love on everyone.

Right after The Festival I went to the Season opener game of Real Salt Lake. The game was sold out, but I scored some tickets for only $15. Brad met up with me and went to the game too. I had forgotten he was growing out his stache and I admit I laughed when I first saw him. It was good seeing him though, I think we figured we hadnt seen eachother in close to a year now. The game was against La Galaxy and the famous David Beckham. It rained the whole time and they were sold out of the really cute red and white  Real beanies that I wanted to buy to keep my head from freezing. Rain and all  Real played great and got us a win 4-1. 

Im really excited for Real and the upcoming season. I love my RSL!!!