Holi 2022: What is the Holi festival, when is Holi 2022, and the story of Holi

Learn about the origins of the Hindu festival of Holi and how people celebrate today.

People smeared with colour powder, known as Gulal, celebrate Holi, the spring festival of colours, at Priyakant Ju Temple in Vrindavan. Photo: AFP via Getty Images.

As the seasons change from winter to spring, many different religions have festivals to commemorate the time of year.

For Christians, it’s Lent and Easter, but for Hindus, Holi marks the arrival of spring.

It’s a colourful festival centred around a bonfire celebration, observed by million of people around the world.

Students covered in Gulal at the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar. Photo: NARINDER NANU / AFP via Getty Images.

Here's all you need to know about the Holi festival and how people around the world celebrate it.

When is Holi 2022?

In the Hindu calendar, Holi signals the beginning of spring and the end of winter.

This year in 2022, Holi will begin on Friday March 18th and last for two days.

What is the Holi festival?

Holi also known as the festival of colours, is a Hindu festival, celebrated over two days.

On the first night of Holi, people light bonfires and burn roasting grains, popcorn, coconut, and chickpeas onto them.

The next day, people head into the streets to celebrate further by throwing coloured paint around.

The fun continues by smearing one another with paint and throwing coloured water, until everyone is painted in bright colours.

Many people wear white clothes deliberately, to allow the paint to have the most colourful effects and keep the clothes afterwards as a bright memento of the celebration.

Holi is celebrated around the world, but most often in places with strong Hindu communities.

Story of Holi

Holi has its origins in the story of the Hindu god Krishna and the legend of Holika and Prahlad.

Hiranyakashipu was an immoral king with special powers that made him nearly invincible.

He was vain and wanted everyone in his kingdom to worship him, using his powers to punish anyone who opposed him, setting himself up as a god.

His son, Prahlad, began to rebel by worshipping the god Vishnu instead of his father.

Hiranyakashipu convinced his daughter, Holika, to help him kill Prahlad by giving her an enchanted cloak that would protect her from fire.

Holika planned to lead Prahlad into the flames but, because she was acting for evil reasons, the cloak switched alliances and protected Prahlad instead.

In this way, Vishnu triumphed over Hiranyakashipu and Hindus today light bonfires to remember and celebrate the victory.