Vrindavan Holi 2016 Dates and Celebration:
Holi, the Festival of Colours has been celebrated in India since thousands of years and is now also celebrated by various communities of South Asia including non-Hindu communities. Holi will be celebrated on Wednesday, 23rd March, 2016 all over the world with Holika Dahan preceding the festival on the night of 22nd March. The following weekend could be combined and it becomes a great holiday option for everyone.
Why celebrate Holi inVrindavan andMathura and origin of Holi
While Holi is celebrated in almost every part of India, Holi in Braj is especially famous. Braj is a historical region which covers the area of Mathura, Vrindavanand some nearby areas. Holi here attacts tourists and pilgrims from all over the world because of it’s special customs and traditions. Mathura is the birth-place of Lord Krishna and Vrindavan is the place where he grew up in his childhood.
When Krishna was young, he cribbed to his mother about Radha (his friend) being fair while Krishna himself was dark complexioned. His mother (Yashoda) suggested him to colour Radha with colors in a playful manner. Over the years, Krishna from his village Nandgaon used to go to Barsana (Radha’s village) to color Radha and other Gopis. They also used to playfully beat him with sticks. And hence the tradition evolved.
To make your trip planning easy, we have given below chronological order of festivities. You can choose to attend a few or simply plonk yourself in the town and experience the most colorful week of your life.
Holi Calendar 2016: Schedule of Celebrations
| Important Occasions | Date | Day |
| Lathmaar Holi at Barsana | 17th March 2016 | Thursday |
| Lathmaar Holi at Nandgaon | 18th March 2016 | Friday |
| Holi in Mathura | 19th March 2016 | Saturday |
| Holi at Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan | 20th March 2016 | Sunday |
| Holi celebration in Gokul | 21th March 2016 | Monday |
| Dwarkadish Temple in Mathura | 22th March 2016 | Tuesday |
| Holi celebration at Temples & streets of Vrindavan | 23th March 2016 | Wednesday |
| Actual Holi celebration | 24th March 2016 | Thursday |
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Visit Barsana for Holi on 17th March, 2016
wooden sticks in response to their efforts to put color on them. Courtesy: AFP PHOTO/ MANAN
Barsana Holi celebrations start about a week before the actual date of Holi. Barsana is a village near Mathura and it was the village of Radha. It is famous for its lathmar Holi in which women beat men (playfully) with sticks. The celebrations in Barsana will happen on 27th of February. 2015. Barsana is the place where Radha used to live and Krishna used to visit this place to put color on Radha.
Visit Nandgaon on 18th March, 2016
Celebrations in Barsana is followed up by similar celebrations in Nandgaon (Krishna’s village) on the very next day (28th of February, 2015). Nandgaon has found reference in religious texts as the place where Krishna spent most of his childhood days. According to legends, after Krishna went to Barsana to put color on Radha, Radha and her friends came to Nandgaon on the next day to put color on Krishna. And hence, Holi celebrations shift from Barsana to Nandgaon.
Stay in Vrindavan for the next few days till Holi
Holi celebrations in Banke Bihari Temple
The Banke-Bihari Temple in Vrindavan is one such place to enjoy the festivities as it hosts a week long Holi celebrations here. During these days, Bihariji (Krishna’s another name) is dressed up in white coloured clothes and it is brought closer to his devotees to play holi. Vrindavan Holi is played with coloured water and gulal, a form of colour made using organic substances like flowers and kesar. Goswamis (priests in the temple) sprinkle colors on everyone using buckets, water guns, etc. The whole atmosphere is made even more lively with music (bhajans) in the background and people dance to the tunes while enjoying the colors.
Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh
Apart from Banke Bihari Temple, every other major Krishna Temple in Mathuraand Vrindavan has some special celebrations going on for the entire week.
The Gulal-Kund in Braj is also another interesting place to celebrate Vrindavan Holi . It is a small lake near the Govardhan hill. Local people act in Krishna-Lila drama and re-enact the scenes of Holi for the pilgrims.
Stay in Vrindavan during Holi
Vrindavan has a lot of options to stay, but it’s best to book your room in advance. Most of the rooms here are simple and are available at very cheap prices (starting from Rs.300 per night for a double bedroom). However a few resorts and luxury hotels are also available in Vrindavan.
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