Holi Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Festival of Colours?

Holi is the festival of colours. Diwali is the festival of lights, Uttarayan is known for kites and Navratri means nine nights.

The bonfire remembers how the demoness Holika tried to burn young Prahlad in a fire, but she burned and he walked out safe. It stands for good winning over evil.

Holika was the sister of the demon king Hiranyakashipu. The festival and the bonfire, Holika Dahan, take their name from her.

Prahlad kept praying to Lord Vishnu even when his father, Hiranyakashipu, ordered everyone to worship only him.

Holika had a cloak (or a boon, in some tellings) that kept fire from hurting her. In the fire, the cloak flew off her and covered Prahlad instead.

Vishnu came as Narasimha, half man and half lion. He struck at dusk, on a doorstep, so the demon king's boon could not save him.

The story goes that Krishna worried about his dark skin next to fair Radha. His mother Yashoda told him to ask Radha to colour his face any colour she liked, and that game of colours lives on in Holi, especially in Braj.

Holi falls on the full moon of Phalguna, the last month of the Hindu lunar year. It usually lands in March, sometimes in late February.

The bonfire is lit on Phalguna Purnima, the full moon night, and colours are played the next morning. Diwali, by contrast, falls on a new moon night.

Drik Panchang (New Delhi) puts Holika Dahan on Sunday, 21 March and Rangwali Holi on Monday, 22 March 2027. A few local calendars shift both by a day.

Holi welcomes spring (vasant). In many villages it also comes just as the winter crop is ready, so it is a thanksgiving time too.

Gulal is the soft coloured powder people smear on cheeks and throw in the air. Kumkum is for tilak, mehndi is henna and chandan is sandalwood paste.

Flowers of the palash tree, also called tesu or flame of the forest, were soaked and boiled to make a natural orange colour. It is still a favourite for a safe, eco-friendly Holi.

Gujiya is a half-moon pastry stuffed with khoya, dry fruits and sugar, then fried. Modak is linked with Ganesh Chaturthi.

Thandai is chilled milk blended with almonds, fennel, cardamom, pepper and rose petals. The name comes from thanda, which means cold.

People shout it after a playful prank or a splash of colour. It means don't take offence, it's Holi. Just remember to ask first before you colour someone.

Men from Nandgaon come to Barsana, Radha's village near Mathura, and the women greet them with lathis while the men hide behind shields. The next day it happens again in Nandgaon.

Crowds fill the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan for days before Holi, as priests shower devotees with gulal and flower petals.

Odisha Tourism calls Holi Dola Purnima. The festival starts days earlier with the Dola Jatra, when Krishna idols are carried from home to home on decorated palanquins.

Kama Dahanam means the burning of Kama. It remembers Lord Shiva burning Kamadeva, the god of love, with his third eye, and Rati's grief for him.

Tagore began Basanta Utsav at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. Students dress in yellow and welcome spring with songs, dance and gulal. In the rest of Bengal, Holi is Dol Jatra.

Yaosang begins on the full moon and runs for five days, with a small straw hut burned, colours, sports and the Thabal Chongba dance at night.

Hola Mohalla was started by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib in Punjab. Nihang Sikhs show sword play, horse riding and mock battles over three days.

Indian families in the Caribbean call it Phagwah, from the month of Phalguna. In Guyana it is a national holiday. Shigmo is Goa's spring festival.