Celebrate Holi in Mumbai, India

Holi is one celebration that has almost as much going on in terms of celebration as it has mythology. Participants paint their faces with brightly colored dye and flood the streets in celebration of love and the coming of spring. Vibrant dye in powder form and colored water are thrown, dropped and sprayed on anyone within reach as people celebrate.

The 16-day festival is known as a celebration of love, light, positivity and color. The history behind Holi is long and varied, but generally the mythology states the tradition began out of good conquering evil and playful pranks.

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The event is so immersed in the culture of India, practically everyone participates. Everyone involved are encouraged and comply to let go and be free from all inhibition and structure from their everyday.

With that said, there are a few aspects of this celebration foreign travelers should be aware of. Being that participants are known to completely let go and drink a blend of alcohol and cannabis throughout the day and night, there is a chance people can occasionally take advantage of the blamelessness of the event and act out. Women are encouraged to travel in groups to deter inebriated strangers from following or harassing them, which may not be uncommon for single females to experience while walking alone.

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Otherwise, the event is known to be an amazing time, which is clear from the amazingly vibrant photos of the festival of Holi. The spectacular event is a uniting factor in the culture as well as a driving force for tourists to take part in the color, fun and carefree spirit of the holiday.