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The whole country, regardless of religion or region, celebrated Holi as one of the main festivals of the country. Despite this fact, there are many tourists and travelers, not only from within the country but also from outside, who specially visit Mathura and Vrindavan to experience the kind of Holi celebrated there.
(Courtesy: Native Planet Hindi)
There are certain beliefs and legends associated with the festival of Holi in Mathura and Vrindavan, apart from the regular legend of HiranyaKashyap and Bhakt Prahlad.
As we all know, Mathura is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. And we are also aware of the eternal bond of love between Radha and Krishna. It is said that Lord Krishna used to compare his dark complexion with the fair complexion of Radha always. His mother, Yashoda used to take it as an amusement.
So Krishna started the practice of visiting Radha’s town, Barsana and throwing colors on her to make her skin color similar to his. Along with Radha Krishna and his friends used to throw colors on other Gopis as well, and they used to chase them away by beating them with logs (lath).
(Courtesy: 365Hops)This legend gave way to the Latth Maar Holi which is very famous in Barsana, a town near Mathura and Vrindavan. And in Vrindavan, there is Baake Bihari temple of Lord Krishna where the Holi of colors and water is quite famous.
(Courtesy: traveltriangle.com)The whole Mathura and Vrindavan are colored with exciting colors not just for one or two days, but for an entire week. Everyone is so ecstatic at this time, that whoever steps out of the house cannot return with clean and uncolored clothes.
These two cities are also famous for the Holi of Flowers and Laddu.
(Courtesy: picfair.com)Apart from Mathura, Vrindavan, and Barsana, Holi in Braj, Kosi, and Nandgaon is also worth experiencing. In all these regions, the festival is celebrated as if Lord Krishna and Radha are themselves a part of the festivities.
Holika Dahan, before the day when we play with colors, is also quite a spectacle in Mathura and Vrindavan. The idols of Holika are stood at every nook and corner and an elaborate program with singing, dancing, storytelling, etc takes place before the idol is finally burnt.
(Courtesy: HelloTravel)This is why the Holi of Mathura and Vrindavan are so special and unique.
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