holi-celebrations-playing-with-colours
Hindus have strongly objected to the commercialization of Holi, Hindu “festival of color”.
Ticketed Holi celebrations are reportedly being held in various cities of United Kingdom and Germany in July and August and a ticket can sometimes cost about $56. Such celebrations are usually held from 12:00 to 22:00, sometimes followed by an after party in a local club in the surrounding area.
Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, stressed that commercialization of a Hindu festival was highly inappropriate as it took the sanctity out of the religious festival.
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued that celebration of Holi festival world-over by anybody/anygroup was welcome but commercialization, which had been dramatically escalating recently, was not appropriate.
Rajan Zed pointed out that Hindu festivals were meant to be celebrated on well-defined dates or around these dates and not all year solely for commercial agenda and mercantile greed on dates convenient to majority patrons.
Joie de vivre festival of Holi welcomes the beginning of spring and starts about ten days before the full moon of Phalguna. The ceremonies include the lighting of the bonfires, during which all evils are symbolically burnt. Holi also commemorates the frolics of youthful Lord Krishna; and celebrates the death of demoness Putana, burning of demoness Holika, and destruction of Kama by Shiva. Holi fell on March 17 in 2014.