The University of Pennsylvania organized its annual celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi, that signifies the beginning of spring, for its students recently. One of the celebratory rituals of Holi involves smearing dry colors or gulal on friends and family, exchanging sweets, and savoring festive delicacies together.
“Culturally, it’s a celebration of love, spring, and goodness,” Ashrit Challa, a third-year student at the College of Arts and Sciences, and co-president of the Penn Hindu & Jain Association at the University told Penn Today. “It’s a great way for us to be able to celebrate with the larger Penn community, especially those who might not share the same culture but are still students here with us.”
The Hindu & Jain Association hosted the event. In preparation, the club ordered 800 pounds of colored powder. Attendees were handed out white T-shirts popularly worn worldwide on festival day to ensure the colors pop up well. Dance groups from the university – Penn Hype, Penn Raas, PeNNaach, Penn Masti, and Penn Dhamaka put up performances at the event.
The association shared pictures from the Holi celebration on Instagram. Wafts of blue, pink, and green can be seen clouding the air among a sea of white T-shirt-wearing attendees.
The event was a success, Challa said. “We always love seeing how many people show up to Holi. It’s just a really great feeling getting to see people celebrate together and enjoy the day.”
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