When we think of Holi, the term 'festival of colours' is what comes to us instantly. For a large part of the country, colours signify the festival's significance but there are different traditions that are followed in various parts of the country. Whenever we look up the date for Holi in a year, we always see two dates associated with it.
For instance, Holi 2026 is celebrated on March 3 and March 4. Why is this and what is the significance? It's simple - both days have their own significance. If you are just relating the festival to playing with colours, then March 4 is your date for 2026. It is called Rangwali Holi which translates to 'Colourful Holi'.
What happens on March 3 then? It is called as Holika Dahan, which is basically the ritual of lighting up bonfires across the country as a mark of showcasing the victory of good over evil. It is believed to be a tradition that tells us that all the bad qualities in the world will be destroyed by the good ones.
Historically, the Holika Dahan happens in the evening, mostly after sunset and there are muhurat timings for the same. For 2026, the muhurat timings for Holika Dahan range from 6.30 pm to 9 pm across different parts of the country. Holika Dahan tells the famous mythological story of Holika and Prahlad while Rangwali Holi tells us the iconic story of Radha and Krishna.
Once upon a time, there was a ruthless king Hiranyakashyap who wanted to be worshipped by everyone but one of his sons, Prahlad, was a stout devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hence, he refused to obey his father's orders. Angered at this, Hiranyakashyap asked his sister Holika to help him take out Prahlad. How? Holika was blessed with a special cloak that helped her escape fire.
Holika then sat on a huge pile of fire with Prahlad on her lap, hoping to burn him down. The twist? That cloak which was supposed to protect Holika, landed on Prahlad instead and Holika got burnt away. This is why bonfires are used everywhere to celebrate the good over evil on Holika Dahan day.
When it comes to Rangwali Holi, the romantic story of Krishna and Radha is considered to the base of the celebrations. One famous myth around this festival is that Krishna during his younger days applied colour on Radha who had a fair complexion. Krishna did this on his mother's advice and out of childish jealousy.
Over the years, Rangwali Holi has been used as a tool to promote love and harmony in India. It has also become one of those festivals that virtually become a 'secular celebration event' with the popularity and impact ranging across all sections of life. People are busy drowning themselves in colours with a wide variety of Holi toys also in business to shoot colours on people.
Historically, Rangwali Holi is always celebrated on the morning after Holika Dahan, and that's why, the festival of Holi is celebrated across two days in India.