Skip to content

Hindus celebrate Holi colour festival in Yorkshire

BBC People in Hull celebrate Holi with colours and dancingBBC
People in Hull celebrate Holi by throwing coloured pigment and dancing

Thousands of people in Yorkshire have celebrated the Hindu spring festival of colours, Holi, with dancing.

Holi celebrates spring, love, and new life with singing, dancing and powder paint and coloured water thrown.

Hull and East Riding Hindu Cultural Association's Carnival of Colours was the first since before the pandemic.

Dr Uma Rajesh, vice chair, said it is "extremely important" to celebrate, and people "realise the value of festivals like this even more now than ever".

Holi in Leeds
People queued outside Beaver Works in Hunslet in Leeds to celebrate Holi with drumming, street food and throwing colours

The festival also celebrates the Hindu god Krishna and the triumph of good over evil with the legend of Holika and Prahlad.

"This is the first time we've met for the Holi because of the Covid pandemic," said Dr Rajesh.

"There's lots of dancing, singing, food, music, people just mingling."

Dr Rajesh said: "People have been stuck indoors, working from home in isolation. It's extremely important for people to celebrate properly."

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].