Holi Holiday: a Q & A with Hawken parents and newly-published authors

Holi is the Indian festival of colors. It celebrates the first day of spring (in India, that is; in Cleveland we often still have snow). There are also different stories in Hinduism that help to illustrate the particular customs and reinforce the idea of this day celebrating the victory of good over evil, and welcoming the beginning of another harvest season. In certain parts of India, Holi also marks the beginning of a new year. 

 

Traditionally, people grab handfuls of colored powder and chase people around to throw or smear the color onto each other. It makes a huge mess, so we’ve experienced scaled-down versions of the celebration, or skip the color-throwing and focus on gathering with friends and family and eating lots of tasty foods traditionally prepared for Holi.

 

While we would love to celebrate India-style, Cleveland weather doesn’t always cooperate. In fact, it often doesn’t. Growing up, we celebrated Holi outside…with pichkaris and colored powders. It’s a day full of joy, laughter, music, colored faces and clothing, and most of all, a sense of community.

 

We hope that readers become familiar not only with Holi, its history, and its traditions, but also with the idea that there are many celebrations throughout the world. By experiencing other cultures through words and illustrations, readers can open their minds and become better global citizens.

While there’s been an increase recently of South Asian characters in the media, there remains a long way to go. For those who finally see themselves represented in our book, we hope to reinforce their sense of belonging.

 

While we’ve been fortunate to take our children to India as a means of reminding them of their roots, celebrating Indian holidays including Holi offers more frequent opportunities to reconnect with our community. We also want the kids to feel comfortable sharing their culture, and not feel like they have to hide it in order to fit in.