Color is the natural art of life; it shows an emotion without saying a word, it can have so much meaning behind every shade or hue. Color is the world painting its picture, and the Holi Festival is here to show the colors of the world.
With love to be shared and color to be thrown, all around the world people will gather on March 28-29 to join together for this unique festival. While Holi is celebrated all over the world, Washburn University’s International house decided to have their own Holi festival from 11 to 3 pm on March 28 which was hosted by Nepalese student Sambridhi Regmi.
Holi originated from Hindu mythology; it is said that the holiday is based around the concept of good vs evil and rebirth. The holiday also signifies the ending of winter and the beginning of spring, which is why when attending a Holi festival it’s common to wear white so as to be a blank canvas for the colors of the world.
People of all ages and different cultural backgrounds came together to bond over lots of water and colored powder. The event featured many familiar faces on campus including Dr. Sangyoub Park, a professor in the sociology department who is a strong supporter of the international club.
“I think this is a great chance for the Washburn community to learn about other cultures, we don’t really have a lot of diversity,” said Dr. Park. “Whatever we have is always good for the school to experience.”
Washburn stands for its diverse community; the students and faculty have a passion to keep expanding the knowledge of other cultures and bringing them together to share their experiences with one another.
Mimami Isobe, a Japanese student majoring in psychology here at Washburn wanted to share her thoughts on why having other cultures’ holidays celebrated on campus is important.
“It’s very important,” said Isobe. “I think to celebrate other cultures, it’s really fun and we can get closer to each other!”
An important part of culture as we all know is food, and for a well-deserved lunch that’s just what the students got to experience. From spiced crispy snacks to mango juice, they gathered to enjoy the warm break and to be educated on foods native to India and Nepal.
While the day started out cold with students splashing each other with water and running around in the mid-day air, the Washburn community saw the importance of appreciating Holi and the meaning behind it. Spring is here, and Holi was the perfect way to signify the transition into a more colorful world.
Edited by: Matthew L. Self