As flowers bloom with the rising temperatures, students will add even more color to campus today when they pelt each other with paint to greet spring’s arrival.
To bring people of all races and ethnicities together, student groups have organized “Holi Moli!” to honor Holi, a traditional Hindu festival intended to provide a colorful celebration of creation and renewal.
Last year’s “Holi Cow” event marked the first campuswide Holi celebration.
Again, as the name implies, the event will combine tradition and fun.
”It’s a chance to act like a kid again,” said Rupal Ray, cultural chairman of Sangam, a South Asian awareness organization and one of the event’s main sponsors. “Some people are even going to bring water guns.”
Splashing colored water is the central ritual of the holiday, but more traditional celebrations also include folk songs, dances and bonfires.
Holi occurs on a different day each year. This year, the holiday was celebrated in India on Feb. 28. Organizers here chose to wait for warmer weather since the event includes a lot of water.
“We’re expecting about 500 people,” said former Campus Y co-president Jimmy Waters. “It’s a big, fun Hindu festival.”
