The festival of Holi is observed across the world wherever Indians and people of Indian origin reside. Feted with great gusto, Holi conjures up a feeling of equality and oneness among all. People have a good time by playing with colored powder, lighting a bonfire and celebrating the downfall of evil and the triumph of goodness.

The Indian congregation plays Indian Festivals like Holi with enthusiasm. Adults, children, teenagers along with their non-Indian friends enjoy and revel in the fun-filled celebration of Holi equally. Kith and kin exchange sweets and embrace each other in the spirit of Holi- the festival of colors.

Holi in Bangladesh :

Bengal region has a multifaceted culture due to the influence of Buddhist, Hindus and Muslim cultures. Though the country is Muslim dominated, Hindus too celebrate their festivals with gaiety.

Of course, the pomp and show of Holi as witnessed in India is missing, nevertheless, celebrations do take place. Hindu community gather in temples and exchange greetings with each other and play with colours.

Indian culture has influenced Bangladesh a lot as the country is nestled in the crook of the Bay of Bengal and is surrounded by India. It shares a border in the south-east with Myanmar and fronts onto the Bay of Bengal. The country is flat and dominated by the braided strands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Jamuna delta. Bangladesh's Muslims and Hindus live in relative harmony.

Holi in Guyana :

Located in the north-east coast of South America, Guyana celebrates Holi with great fan fair.

Holi or Phagwa, as the Guyanese better know, is celebrated by the singing of special songs called Chowtaals and by the spraying of coloured powder (abrack) and water (abeer). Children take special delight in the festival and submerge any passerby with their colourful water jets called pichkaris.

The season of Holi, starts a month before with the planting of the Holika, a castor oil plant. This plant is burnt one month later as Holika, commemorating Prahlad's legendary devotion to Lord Shiva and also the triumph of good over evil.

Holi happens to be a national holiday in Guyana as Hindus constitute about 33 per cent of the country's population. Guyanese living overseas make special arrangement to be with the family at the time of Holi.

Holi in Mauritius :

Just as the many other major Hindu festivals, the large Indian majority, (about 63 per cent) celebrate Holi with a lot of enthusiasm in the island of Mauritius. It is an official holiday in the country and therefore people get all the time to make merry and drench themselves in the spirit of Holi and of course, colour water.

Hindus, here duly perform the tradition of Holika Dahan or lighting of bonfire on the eve of Holi and celebrate the victory of good over evil. Next day people revel and play with colours and drench everybody with water jets called pichkaris. While in the evening they greet each other with tilak and exchange sweets. Holi is also marked as a Spring Festival when the nature wears its best clothes and fields and flowers are in full bloom.

Holi in Pakistan :

Hindus residing in Pakistan also celebrate holi, though, of course, in not as grand a fashion as seen in India.

People celebrate the victory of good over evil forces by lighting bonfires called Holika. The tradition comes from the legend of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyap. In fact, people follow the same traditions and rituals as in India due to their roots in India. People clean their houses and prepare special delicacies like gujiyas, papri and dahi badas. They meet up with friends and play with the colours, dance and generally have good time. Hindus usually gather in temples and celebrate the Holi there. Much gaiety can be seen in temples located in cities which have a comparatively greater Hindu population. Such as in Lahore and Sindh region.

Holi in South Africa :

Indians wherever they may be, takes immense delight in celebrating the festival of Holi and South Africa is no exception. The vibrant Gujarati's and other Indians settled in South Africa have made it a point to keep the tradition of celebrating Holi alive in the country. They play colours, light bonfires called Holika, sing Holi songs and make merry. The evenings are spent in meeting friends and relatives and exchanging greetings and sweets.

People believe that it is becoming all the more important to keep the ancient customs alive in this conflict ridden society. The festival of Holi is vital in this aspect as it is believed that Holi helps people to get closer. It generates warmth in relationships and even enemies turns friends in the spirit of Holi.

It may be noted that South Africa is located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. It had the largest immigrant Indian community in the world a decade prior to the colonization by the United States of America. Indians account of almost one million in the country. Most of them are concentrated in the eastern regions of Natal and Transvaal of the country. About 65% are Hindus, 15% Muslims and 20% of Christians live in this area. Due to the majority of the Hindu population, a number of Hindu festivals are celebrated here. Most of the Hindus here are from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and continue to follow their regional variations of Hinduism.

Holi in United Kingdom :

Hindus settled in UK do not miss out the excitement of Holi celebrations and enjoy to the hilt. Zeal for the festival is particularly marked in this country as Indians constitute the second largest ethnic minority. Celebrating festivals help them to feel close to their families and cultural roots.

The celebration of Holi is noticeable at places that witness a large congregation of Indians. The British city of Leicester is particularly known for its love for celebrating Indian festivals. Excitement reaches its peak when the occasion is that of celebrating a joyous festival like Holi.

Children love to use their spray cans and colour each other. Holi parades are also carried and in the evening people visit their friends and relatives to exchange greetings and sweets. They hug each other and also apply the tilak as the meet Holi in a traditional manner.

Holi in USA :

With a large population of Indians settled in the United States of America, Holi is celebrated with gaiety and lot of fanfare in this country.

Different societies formed by the Indians and religious organisations help people to celebrate this joyous festival and feel close to their cultural roots. Music programmes and Holi Meets are also organised by them to mark the occasion. These meets help the new generation to identify with their cultural root. Children learn to understand the significance of celebrating festivals and know legends asociated with them.

Great enthusiasm for the festival can be specially witnessed in cities where large number of Indians have settled. Holi celebrations are particularly marked in the city of New York.

Holi in Surinam :

Holi is celebrated with lot of mirth and excitement in Surinam which has a large number of Indians. Hindus constitute about 35-40% of the population, an important part of this is people who immigrated from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Just as in India, people here take great delight in spraying colour on each other and singing Holi songs. Holika is also burnt on the eve of Holi which is symbolic of victory of good over evil.

There is a similarity in the way Holi is celebrated in Surinam and that in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Here too, people plant a castor oil plant weeks before the festival and this plant is burnt later as Holika. Between these days people engage themselves in nightly chowtaal and taan singing at each other's homes or at the temples.

Delicacies like bara, gulgula, phulourie, bigany, mango or tamarind chutney, potato ball, prasad, channa, ghoja, mahambhoog, kheer or sweet rice, among others beverage are prepared and served at the temples where large Holi gatherings takes place.