Holi Toolkit
Namaste HAF Parents!
With Holi just around the corner, the Hindu American Foundation is proud to announce a first-ever National Teach Holi in School Day on March 18, 2011 (Holi actually falls on March 19th this year). As a sister project of the
National Teach Diwali in School Day held last November 4, we’ve taken care of the planning by creating a Holi Toolkit to help you also introduce Holi to your children and their classmates. All you need to do is choose a few or all of the suggested activities, buy a few supplies, and then arrange a time with your child’s teacher to pay a visit to the classroom.
Like Diwali, Holi is also one of the more anticipated and widely celebrated Hindu festivals, yet many of our neighbors, teachers, and friends haven’t heard about it. With that said, HAF hopes you will reach out to your children’s teachers and request the opportunity to give a fun and informative Holi presentation to the entire class. Hinduism teaches vasudhaiva kutumbakam, that the whole world is one family, so why not celebrate this festival with our extended family?
HAF's Holi Toolkit is constructed as a guideline for your classroom presentation. In here, you will find everything you need to celebrate the festival in a classroom -- from how to explain the meaning of Holi to snack items for sharing to group activity ideas. We’ve included links to coloring pages to create the suggested crafts, as well as a colorful PowerPoint presentation that can also be printed out if a projector is unavailable. We also encourage you to incorporate your own ideas into your presentation and share them with us for future toolkits.
Best wishes and Happy Holi to you from all of us here at HAF!
Introduction to Holi
Holi is a Hindu festival that will be celebrated worldwide on March 19th this year. In welcoming spring and a bountiful harvest, it is during Holi that adults and children alike throw gulal or colored powder at one another -- not to mention colored water as well! As the skies and streets are filled with color, it is no surprise that Holi is said to be the “Festival of Colors.”
There are several legends about the origin of Holi. One that fondly comes to mind is the story of Prince Prahlad.
Once upon a time, there lived a demon king named King Hiranyakashipu. He believed that he was the best and no one could defeat him. In fact, he was so proud of himself that he made a law that required everyone to worship him only and not even think about anyone else -- not even God.. However, little Prince Prahlad, the king’s very own son, broke this law daily. Prince Prahlad prayed to the Hindu God, Lord Vishnu -- his father’s worst enemy -- and refused to stop no matter what his father said. Frustrated and angry, his father tried to have him hurt and even killed; but no matter what the king tried, somehow Prince Prahlad was saved. Finally, the king turned to his sister Holika who had a very special power. Holika could never be harmed by fire. To help her brother, Holika thought to take herself and Prince Prahlad into a fire pit and burn the little boy to ashes -- because as we know, fire could not harm Holika. But because of Prince Prahlad’s goodness and devotion to Lord Vishnu, instead of him being touched, it was Holika who burned instead!
Another story for Holi goes back to when Lord Krishna was a little boy. Lord Krishna was very naughty growing up. He loved playing pranks on his friends and he loved teasing them too, especially his best friend, Radha. One day, he asked his mother, why he was so dark-skinned, while Radha and his other friends were so fair. His mother playfully suggested that if he threw color on Radha’s face, he could change her face to whatever color he wished. Fascinated by this idea, young Krishna began the tradition of throwing color at one another on Holi.
As per Hindu tradition, Holi is celebrated with great gusto. With music in the air and colored powder floating all around, no one can help but smile at the sight.
Celebrating Holi in the Classroom
From gulal to water balloons to yummy snacks, you can help bring Holi to your child’s classroom.
Creating a festive atmosphere...
- Introduce yourself and say good bye with “Namaste.” Explain that “namaste” is a traditional Hindu greeting that translates to “The Divine in me, bows to the Divine in you.” It is based on the belief that each one of us is a part of God or the Divine. Materials needed: HAF provided PowerPoint presentation.
- Play your favorite Indian music lightly in the background during the Holi presentation, while doing arts and crafts with the kids and/or while snacking on food.
- Describe, demonstrate and teach some Indian classical or folk dance steps (i.e. bharat natyam, kathak, garba, dandiya, bhangra)
Encourage kids to express their creativity in color...
- Kids can color in their very own pichkaris or water guns, and other Holi-themed designs. Materials needed: HAF-provided coloring pages of Holi-themed designs (option 1; option 2), markers/crayons/colored pencils.
- Make a tissue paper flower bouquet. Materials needed: colored tissue paper, green pipe cleaners, scissors, ribbon:
- Pre-cut tissue paper into rectangles of 5"x7" (will need 12-15 per flower)
- Make a stack with 12-15 pieces (either the same or different colors). You can use fewer pieces, but the flower will not be as full.
- Pleat the tissue paper accordian-style working from the long side.
- Wind one end of the pipe cleaner around the middle of the pleated tissue paper.
- Trim the ends of each side to give the pedals, like a triangle or half-circle, for a unique look.
- Gently separate each layer, pulling upwards toward the middle of the flower. Do this to both sides.
- Time permitting, children can make three to five flowers and present their parents with a Holi bouquet wrapped in a larger green sheet of tissue paper and tied with a ribbon.
- Kids can go outside and throw gulal and water balloons at one another. Materials needed: gulal, water balloons. Optional: plain white T-shirts for each child, pichkaris if available.
Fashion tradition...
- Dress in Indian clothes and encourage the classroom teacher to do the same. If possible, wear a white outfit.
- Take traditional Indian clothing for a demo. Pick two kids, a boy and a girl, and ask them to come to the front of the class. Dress the girl in a salwar suit or a lengha and the boy, in a sherwani suit or simply dress his head in a pagdi to model the clothes of India.
- Bring bindis or bangles for all the girls and tilaks for the boys.
No Holi-day is complete without food...
- Bring in cookies, candies or chocolates.
- Bring in mini-samosas or namak pares from a local Indian shop.
- Bring in ladoos or gujias from a local Indian shop.
Note: When preparing food items, consult with the classroom teacher regarding food allergies, namely nut and dairy.
Coloring pages are courtesy of www.thecolor.com.