Page 41 - ENGLISH 8

2. You might celebrate many festivals. Among them, which festival do you
like most? How do you celebrate it? Is enjoying festivals a good thing?

B. Study
Read the following text and note information you find important.

Holi

Holi is the festival of colour. It is one of the most beautiful festivals in Hindu culture. It is a
joyful festival celebrating the victory of good over evil. This festival is generally
celebrated in the month of February or early March. People from Terai celebrate it a day
later with joy and ceremony.

Fagu is another name for Holi. Fagu means the sacred red powder. It is mostly celebrated
on the full moon, called Fagu Purnima. People play with different colours on this day. It is
usually celebrated for a week in the Terai. However, it is only the last day that all people
celebrate with colours. People can be seen going round the streets either on foot or on
some vehicles, with a variety of colours smeared over their face and body.

During this festival, family members and friends get together and celebrate the occasion
with a lot of merry making. It is also an outburst of youthful excitement throwing colours
and water balloons (lolas) at each other.

There is a traditional belief behind the celebration of Holi. The festival, 'Holi' comes from
the name of a mythical demon, Holika. The myth about Holi reveals that Holika and
Hiranyakasyapu were sister and brother. Hiranyakasyapu had a son called Pralhad. He
was a strong devotee of Lord Vishnu. However, Hiranyakasyapu was an atheist king, and
planned to kill his son, Pralhad. He asked for the help of his sister, Holika. But their
attempts always failed since Lord Vishnu protected Pralhad.

48 Grade 8/English Book