SPA’s festival of colors celebrates Holi

The Student Programming Association held its Festival of Colors event on Feb. 27 to represent the Hindu celebration of Holi.

Saurav Shrestha, mathematics sophomore from Nepal, said “In Hinduism [the Festival of Colors] is a celebration of good over evil.”

Shrestha said that as the multicultural chair for SPA, it is his responsibility to hold different events that represent cultures from around the world.

Shrestha said that in Nepal, the event is called Holi and is named after the demon Holika, who could not be affected by fire. Holika wished to kill the son of a god. That same son was able to break the curse which would allow Holika to be killed with fire. The son of the god was killed with the same flame Holika had planned to use to kill.

The celebration occurs on the day in which there is a full moon to welcome spring.

“In [Nepal] people make a big statue out of bamboo [of Holika] and burn it down the day before,” said Shrestha. “On the day of, they play with colors, water balloons and eat and drink.”

This year, there were about 50 to 60 students in attendance, and they used a total of 60 pounds of color powder.

“[The Festival of Colors] is a good experience about people learning about other cultures while having fun,” Shrestha said.

SPA has held this event for several years, and Shrestha said he hopes that tradition will continue.