The 25th annual Phagwah (Holi) Parade was held from noon on Liberty Ave & 133rd Street, in Richmond Hill, Queens. It included a show and celebration from 2 p.m. at Smokey Oval Park, Atlantic Ave. & 125th Street, also in Richmond Hill. Performances by dancers, singers and tassa drummers were viewed by some 25,000 who packed into the park.
Holi (Hindi: होली, Nepali: होली) is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus as a festival of colours.
It is primarily observed in India and Nepal. It is also observed by the minority Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan as well in countries with large Hindu Diaspora populations including in Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mauritius, and Fiji.
Holi is also known as Phagwah is a Festival of Colors. Phagwah is a Hindu religious holiday observed in March to celebrate the triumph of good over evil. Hindus traditionally wear white on Phagwah day and indulge in the throwing upon each other of a harmless liquid called abeer. Abeer is a red dye which symbolizes the blood of the tyrannical King Kiranya who in Hindu lore was ordered burnt alive by his son Prince Prahalad because of the suffering which his people endured at the hands of his father. Powder, perfume, and water are also thrown on family, friends and neighbors on this day by Hindus and non-Hindus alike in what is an amusing, good-natured and joyful celebration.
