Holi Colours Guide — What Each Colour Means

The colours

• Red — love, fertility and celebration
• Yellow — turmeric, health and happiness
• Green — spring, new beginnings and harvest
• Blue — Krishna, who is often shown blue
• Pink — friendship and kindness
• Orange — energy and the arrival of spring

Why colours?

Holi celebrates spring and the playful love of Radha and Krishna. Krishna, the story goes, worried that fair Radha would not like his dark skin — so his mother suggested he colour her face. Colours also break barriers: on Holi everyone is the same colour.

Play safe

• Use herbal or "natural" gulal; avoid industrial dyes and glitter.
• Oil your skin and hair beforehand so colour washes off easily.
• Protect eyes; ask before applying colour to someone.

Where Holi is celebrated most

The Braj region — Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Nandgaon — celebrates for more than a week, with Lathmar Holi in Barsana and flower Holi in Vrindavan's temples. In Bengal, Holi is Dol Jatra, with abir and songs to Krishna; in Punjab, the Sikh festival of Hola Mohalla follows the next day.

Making natural colours at home

• Yellow: turmeric mixed with gram flour
• Red: dried red hibiscus petals ground to powder, or beetroot juice
• Green: dried and powdered spinach or henna (mehndi) powder
• Orange: boiled palash (tesu) flowers — the traditional Holi colour

Holika Dahan

The night before the colours, families gather around a bonfire for Holika Dahan, remembering how the devotee Prahlad was protected while his wicked aunt Holika burned. It is a reminder that faith and goodness win.

Respect and consent

Holi is meant to be joyful for everyone. Ask before applying colour, avoid faces and eyes, keep water balloons away, and respect people — and animals — who prefer not to play.