When I went to participate in Holi Moli on Friday, I had no idea what to expect. The only thing I knew was that there was paint involved. I couldn’t believe the number of students that filled Polk Place.
Everywhere I could see, there were students in t-shirts holding and trading packets of colored powder. We all eagerly anticipated the moment we were allowed to rush onto the tarps, open our paint packets, and proceed to cover friends and strangers in bright colors.
But what is Holi?
Holi is a Hindu celebration of the end of the winter months and the beginning of spring.
The season of Holi is celebrated by Hindus over sixteen days with traditional bonfires lit the day before the main day of festivities, the day we celebrated in Polk Place with “Holi Moli.”
The fifth day of the full moon marks the end of festivities involving color and the end of the Holi season.
I can’t think of a better way to welcome the spring at UNC than Holi Moli. The weather was gorgeous, the people were vibrant and enthusiastic, the cold water running down the tarps was refreshing, and the layer of paint on my skin kept me from getting sun burned.
I’ll be sure to start every spring here with bright colors and good friends.
Check back on Monday for a full photo gallery of the event, and watch this Daily Tar Heel video by Nushmia Khan and Jarrard Cole of the Holi celebration last year:
Hundreds of UNC students gathered on Friday to celebrate Holi, the Festival of Colors by splattering each other with brightly colored paint.
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