Here’s how to Celebrate Holi festival during Corona Virus Pandemic time, Government guidelines, Safety Rules and other ways to make the Holi Festival safe and colorful one.
What is holi?
The festival of colours- holi, is celebrated with great zeal, enthusiasm and happiness in India. It’s one of the most favourite festivals in India. People wear white clothes and play with colours. They apply colours to each other faces and play with water. The children love this festival a lot and are the most excited people during this day. People give sweets to each other and celebrate this festival together as a family.
Why is Holi celebrated?
Holi makes us remember the triumph of the good over the evil. It also honours lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu saved his devotee Prahalad by killing his father. In North India ‘Holika Dehan’ is celebrated a day before the main festival to mark the death of the demon, Holika who was sent by Prahalad’s father to kill him. When Holika sat on the fire with Prahalad in her lap, the fire consumed her but not Prahalad. People burn huge piles of wood to remember the death of Holika and to celebrate the triumph of the good. They also ask for blessings from the fire god.
Holi During Corona Virus Pandemic
The virus and the ignorant public.
The coronavirus was a deadly virus that took many lives and instilled a sense of fear in people. Due to its widespread, the government took various safety measures like the lockdown because this virus was spreading faster in public. After the lockdown was lifted the people started becoming careless and started ignoring the rules and regulations set by the government for their safety.
Many started conducting social gatherings exceeding the limit of people allowed. Many did not maintain distance or sanitize their surroundings properly. Most of the people did not wear the masks properly or did not wear them at all. All the rules and regulations set up by the government for public safety were disregarded.
Almost everyone started going to work regularly and India noticed a spike in the cases as the public became ignorant. As the festival season is approaching it has become even more difficult to control the public. Holi being one of the main festivals of India is a rising concern.
Public plans for Holi
Holi is a beloved festival all over India. It’s visible that the public is excited this time too. The preparations are in full swing despite the pandemic going on and the people are least affected by this fact. We can see the shops stacking up colours for the Holi celebration and water guns being bought. The atmosphere isn’t tense as it was a year ago and people are living their lives normally and are tension free.
The kids are excited about the upcoming festival and can be heard bickering around about their new water gun of something else. The sweet shops have started making sweets in fair amounts.
Rules and Instructions
Holi is a festival where many people gather to colour each other. That’s why there is a high risk of the virus spreading. For public safety, the government may enforce some rules. Many states will not be celebrating Holi and the ones who are celebrating the festival are not supposed to hold gatherings.
There used to be holi festivals that would incorporate music and dance along with eatables in a clearing or ground. Any sort of such activities have been banned and strict action will be taken if such activities are conducted by the public. The government has allowed people to perform Holika Dehan in their respective homes.
Gujarat Government on Sunday said permission won’t be granted for Holi celebrations due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said “No permission is granted for the celebration of Holi. Action will be taken against violators. However, I believe the people of Gujarat will follow rules and will not play Holi,”.
There will be a ban on taking out processions on Holi and gathering in large number of people for celebrating Holi is many states.
More details are awaited on the Guidelines for Holi Festivals.
How Holi can be celebrated during this pandemic?
During this tough time of pandemic as we cannot engage in a lot of celebration we can still find ways to make this holi even more interesting, right? Here are some ways.
Sweets
Many types of sweets are available in the market that can add a sweet flavour to the celebration.
Colours
As we are not allowed out we can still play inside our homes. Use dry colours to colour your family members in them.
Music
No party is complete without music. Blast some spicy Bollywood songs on speakers and dance to their tunes. They can amp up any party and can be super fun.
Water guns and balloons
Take all the revenge you can on your siblings by drenching them in cold water with the help of water guns and balloons.
Games
Play engaging games with your family members. Guess movies or sing songs. Play musical chairs or cards. Spend quality time with them.
The pandemic taught us many things, the main being that family was very important and that how lonely we would be without them. Take this holi as an opportunity to spend time with them.
