Holi the festival Of colours a time To focus on the brighter Side of life
Today some of us will celebrate the climax of Holi - the Hindu festival of colours, one of the most significant festivals in the Hindu calendar. Some will celebrate tomorrow.
People smear each other with colours and share delicious sweets, an integral part of the festival. Symbolically, it is a celebration of victory of good over evil - when Lord Vishnu killed the wicked King Hiranyakashipu who demanded that every person worship him instead of Lord Vishnu.
The king wanted to kill his son because he supported Lord Vishnu.
The festival of colours is like the Festival of Lights during Diwali.
The outcomes are similar because evil is defeated. The colours represent the rise of everything good displacing everything bad.
Last year Holi was celebrated on a small scale, mostly at the family level because of the imposition of restrictions to protect us from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s a wonderful relief and blessing that we now are able to celebrate Holi as we normally would.
Holi reminds us that evil is around us and we can overcome it if we hold on to our good values - whether they are cultural, religious or spiritual.
Light shines over darkness, good overpowers evil, positivity replaces negativity, and joy takes over from pain and misery.
They underpin the Holi celebrations.
It would be more meaningful if we continue to uphold these noble values in the way we interact with fellow Fijians.
This applies to all religious festivals and celebrations.
They should reinforce our collective will to live together peacefully.