Holi being celebrated across mountainous, hilly districts today

KATHMANDU: Phagu Poornima, commonly known as Holi, is being celebrated with much fanfare across the mountainous and hilly districts today. Residents are welcoming spring with colours, music and dance.

The festival is observed on the full moon day of the month of Fagun in the lunar calendar. On this day, people smear colours and splash coloured water on one another while crowds gather along major thoroughfares to sing and dance. Celebrants of all ages, caste and creed join the festivities, which are rooted in an ancient tradition that symbolises mutual harmony and goodwill.

According to local custom and legend, Holi is observed as a celebration of the victory of truth over falsehood. A public holiday has been declared by the government in the mountain and hill districts for the occasion. In the Tarai region, where the festival is observed a day after the full moon, Holi will be celebrated on Tuesday.

President Ramchandra Paudel has extended his greetings to the nation, urging the festival to inspire social reform. He said, "May the festival of Holi provide further inspiration to eradicate various types of distortions, anomalies and evil customs existing in the society, to protect and promote the indigenous culture and to maintain mutual harmony in the country." He added, "The Holi festival, which is celebrated with joy and happiness to celebrate the victory of truth over falsehood, justice over injustice, virtue over vice, and religion over unrighteousness, has a tradition of renouncing enmity and expressing goodwill and having fun with relatives and friends by applying colours and paints to each other with love and intimacy."

Vice President Ramsahay Prasad Yadav, National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Prasad Dahal, former President Bidya Devi Bhandari, former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal and other leaders have, in separate statements, extended their best wishes to those celebrating today and tomorrow.

The celebrations combine religious symbolism with communal revelry, as neighbourhoods and main streets fill with colour and song, marking one of Nepal’s most vibrant seasonal festivals.