Bolton Hindu community welcome spring with Holi festival

One of India’s most popular festivals, Holi is held every year to celebrate the arrival of spring and involves dancing, music and plenty of brightly coloured painted water.

This year proved no exception as families gathered at the Bolton Indian Sports Club on Hacken Lane in Darcy Lever on Saturday for celebrations organised by the Bolton Hindu Forum.

Bolon Hindu Forum Trustee and lead organiser Amit Taank said: “It is both an honour and a pleasure to bring this wonderful event to our town of Bolton where Hindus and people from other faiths have been able to come and partake in this event in a fun and inclusive way.

“Supporters have braved against the cold weather today and come out in large crowds and in doing so, together we created such a wonderful atmosphere here today.”

Though the weather may not been especially spring like on Saturday, that did not stop attendees enjoying a range of entertainments.

People came together from across Bolton to celebrate Holi (Image: Henry Lisowski)

Mayor of Bolton Cllr Mohammed Ayub was welcomed to the event as a dignitary to see the celebrations unfold.

These include dance performances from local children, Indian food and delicacies and a DJ playing a mix of both traditional Holi songs and modern Bollywood tunes.

The festival marks the start of spring (Image: Henry Lisowski)

The dhol players bought an extra buzz to the fields with the beat of the drum reverberating the air while donations were also collected for charitable causes.

But the highlight, as with any Holi event, was the smearing one another with bright coloured powders, a joyful exchange celebrating the arrival of spring.

Families and children came together for the festivities (Image: Henry Lisowski)

At this time of year Hindu Temples, homes and streets in India and in Hindu communities around the world are covered in colourful hues from powders flying through the air.

Traditionally, the festival marks a story from Hindu scriptures where a young child named Prahlad, upheld his staunch devotion to God.

This was in spite of opposition from his own father who wished to be worshipped as the most powerful being.

To set an example to others, Prahlad was to be executed but each attempt was unsuccessful with God protecting him at all costs.

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Finally, Prahlad was made to sit in a fire with a woman named Holika who was believed to be immune to fire.

Holi is one of the most important dates in the Hindu calendar (Image: Henry Lisowski)

Holding him, Holika sat on top of a pyre of burning wood and held Prahlad to make sure he couldn’t escape but once again, God protected his devotee.

 This final attempt prompted God Himself to come to Earth to rescue His devotee from His evil father and thereafter the festival became known as Holi from the name Holika.