Holi with children in Nepal

Holi is a festival in Nepal and northern India, which is also called the Color Festival. As a series of events, it has also found its way to Europe – but it is actually a traditional festival, where the beginning of spring is celebrated. Especially in Kathmandu Holi can go up high – so it is a good idea to celebrate this festival with children? In this article, there are a few info and tips on how it works.

Holi – what is celebrated

Holi is traditionally the festival celebrating the victory of spring over the winter. It usually takes place around the beginning of March / end of February (the first full moon day of the month Phagun – Nepal does not follow the Gregorian calendar). There are different stories about the feast, but they all have the same theme: the victory of good over evil.

On this day, caste and class differences play almost no role, all celebrate together. The colors are blessed before playing and each color represents something different. Red stands for fertility, beauty and love, green for new beginnings and good harvests, yellow for strength, etc.

What happens exactly?

Holi is a festival that can take up to ten days, depending on the region. The most important day, however, is the full moon day, which is played wildly with colors and water. Families smear each other with color powders in different colors and hunt each other through the neighborhood. Often the colors are mixed with water and then filled in balloons – so you are often hit from the top of a paint bomb. Children often hide in strategically chosen places to throw off careless passers-by. And I’ve been soaked by a whole bucket load from the second floor …

The color powder is smeared or thrown on the cheeks – in the end you are over and over colorful.

Where to Holi with child?

In Kathmandu, Holi is celebrated wildly, and you should think hard where to go to this party. It’s a bit like carnival in Cologne – you can go great with kids on the carnival parade, but maybe not on the Zülpicher Straße to the celebrating students.

Sure it is mostly in the residential areas. Families play together and with the neighbors and it usually does not get out of hand so much. You still get paint and water, but not from strangers.

The biggest party is in Thamel and Durbar Square. Here you can see the most – but it is also the wildest. Certain streets are like a gauntlet, people are lurking at each window with buckets and water balloons and as a foreigner, of course, you are a popular victim.

On Durbar Square is mostly played loud music and it is tight. Color powder is thrown repeatedly in the air. If you do not want to rush into the fray, you can also observe the whole thing from an elevated place on the temple steps. A trip to Durbar Square to Holi, I would only recommend, however, if your children have no fear of contact and not easily frightened by narrowness (of course, the same applies to the parents).

Dress choice for Holi

Also important is the choice of clothes. Many people wear a white T-shirt, but it will never be white again afterwards. The colors can hardly be washed out – stains or a light tint always remain. But you should wear an undershirt or something like that – white is quickly transparent when it gets wet. Also, the pants will be hit, so it’s best not to wear the only good jeans that you brought along on the trip. In March, it may well be still cold – for the kids so best to take spare things in a plastic bag, so that after the party can quickly put on something dry.

The hair is also colorful – and often for longer. Miriam has dark hair, that’s not so noticeable, but I often have a few pink strands for weeks with my blond hair. And last year, two weeks later, I still had color in the auricle …

I even wear my spare glasses instead of the normal ones – just for safety. A risk less …

Holi with child – what should be considered

Holi is the only day of the year in Nepal where caste differences do not matter and everyone celebrates wildly together. Unfortunately, sometimes things can get out of hand. Of course, alcohol often plays a role as well. Especially young men often use this day as an opportunity to get closer to the opposite sex than is otherwise possible. You should not go out alone as a woman and always stay in a group. With a child you should definitely be two.

Neither one nor the child should have problems with it, if strangers smear the face with paint. As soon as you are there it does not help to say no but you should just get involved. The most fun of course is, if you buy a few bags of color at the beginning and join in.

Cameras should be well packaged and waterproofed. Often you do not even see where the water comes from and can not protect electronic devices. And even the cell phone in the bag is not safe – a well-aimed bucket of water can be soaked through to the underwear.

Traditionally Holi uses colors that are made from plants. Hay, these are often chemical colors that are not so easy to wash out. Some also mix egg and worse into the color cocktail to keep the colors better. So, if someone approaches you with a color that looks significantly different than the others (dark green or black, for example), just turn your head away.

If you want to participate, you can buy color bags for just a few rupees at every street corner. Simply generously in the hands and the next passers in the face lubricate. These will probably reciprocate with new color. But if you see someone who is still very clean and does not join in – leave that person alone. If Nepalis have lost a close family member within the last year, they should not be touched by the colors.

With these tips, a nice Holifest with a child in Nepal should actually be possible. It’s best to approach carefully and see how you all react – and if it’s fun, just keep going. We look forward to this year’s festival on the 1st of March and of course will share many of our colorful photos on Facebook! Happy Holi!

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