Holi
is the Hindu Festival of Colors and is celebrated on
March 24 in 2016. People in Indian celebrate by tossing colored powder or
spraying each other with colored liquid. Holi iscelebrated on the full moon,
called Phalgun Purnima or Pooranmash. Holi begins with the Holika
Dahan--ceremonial bonfires which purge evil spirits, which are lit one day
before Holi. Holi comes in the Hindu calendar month of Phalgun. Holi falls in
late March to early April in the western calendar. Here are free printable Holi Indian crafts, greeting cards and lessons to help kids
understand the Indian Holi Festival of Colors. Teachers, use these free
printable Holi activities for social studies lessons. Homeschool parents, why
not explore Holi Festival of Colors with kids?
Got
Free Cards has free printable Holi
greeting cards and Indian crafts. Holi is a happy holiday, so sending cards would be appropriate.
It celebrates the triumph of Prahlada (with the help of Lord Vishnu) over
Prahlada's jealous father Hiranyakashipu, king of the demons. The Rig Veda--the
oldest of the four Hindu Vedic texts--tells how Prahlada loved Lord Vishnu and
was made to sit with his demon sister Holika. Holika was consumed and Prahlada
was saved. So bonfires are built at Holi to ward of Holika's wrath.
Craftionary
has free printable Holi
greeting cards in bright colors.
They show images of fireworks, colored chalks and powders and other Holi
images. These cheerful messages help spread the Holi Festival of Colors joy.
Click "black and white" or "black ink cartridge" or
"print in grayscale" on your printer preferences menu. Then children
can use cards as coloring pages, too. The Color has free printable Hindu Holi coloring pages, featuring bonfires, people spraying each
other, as well as Indian Holi foods like balushahi, Printable Colouring Pages
has challenging free printable Holi festival of colors Indian
crafts andcoloring pages. Several could be used as Holi greeting cards, place mats or
party decorations.
The
University of Texas has a free printable Holi
lessons and Inidan crafts unit with vocabulary, history, Indian crafts, geography,
literature and social studies extensions. Mr. Donn has free printable Holi lessons, worksheets, book connections, Indian crafts
and kids activities to help children celebrate the Holi Festival of Colors.
This website is always a good place to get well-researched, child-friendly
age-appropriate content, especially for world holidays. BBC has free printable Holi
activities, materials, lessons,
worksheets and discussions on Holi. Perfect for history and world religions
teachers. Use for units on Hinduism. There are Hindu Diwali materials to
explore another popular Indian holiday.
To
make your own Holi spray, mix food coloring and water or dissolved gelatin and
water. This way it won't stain. To wish someone a good Holi, say "Holi
Hai!" But watch out for the colored spritzer!