Happy Holi, DU
(Also, I think, Nowruz and Purim)
For those curious about Holi:
The Vaishnavite story is that the demon king Hiranyakashipu had a Macbeth/Ahab prophecy that he could be killed neither at day nor at night, nor indoors nor outdoors. This prophecy made him arrogant and led him to neglect Vishnu. His son Prahlada was, however, a devotee of Vishnu, and would not blaspheme with his father. This angered Hiranyakashipu, who ordered Prahlada burned alive. He was saved by his sister Holika, who dove into the fire to save him and threw her cloak of invulnerability around him, at the cost of her own immolation. In justice for this death, Vishnu came at dusk (neither night nor day) and caught Hiranyakashipu in a doorway (neither indoor nor outdoor) and killed him. But Holika's pyre took on all the colors of the world.
The Krishnaic tradition is that the baby Krishna was discolored by milk from the rakshasi Putana, and was ashamed to go to his own mother to nurse. So she asked the milkmaid Radhika to come feed him, and Radhika appeared in a spectrum of all the colors of the world, and Krishna found joy in her and in himself again.
The Shaivist tradition is that Shiva was deep in meditation, to the irritation of Parvati. She sought the aid of the love god Kamadeva, who fired his arrows at Shiva. Shiva opened his eyes and burned Kamadeva with his glance. This sent Kamadeva's wife Rati into mourning, which led Shiva out of his meditation and into penance, and made him resurrect Kamadeva and present Parvati with apologies and garlands made of all the colors of the world.
Winter is over, and spring is here. Happy Holi, everybody.
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