Holi is an Indian festival of the spring arrival and is also known as the "festival of colours".

It is celebrated mainly in India, Nepal and Pakistan at the end of winter during the last full moon of the lunar month of Phalguna. In our calendar, Holi is held on the turn of the months of February and March. The first mention of this festival comes from the 7th century from the Sanskrit drama Ratnaválí. Celebrations take place during three to sixteen days and during its main day, called the Dhul, people wear plain white clothes and throw at each other a powder in bright colours or coloured water.

Originally people went in this time to the god Krishna temples and applied a red colour on his portrays. The red colour is a symbol of desire and people believe that Krishna will fulfil their wishes.

But everything in India has a double meaning and Holi is no exception. It's not just a holiday of joy from the arrival of spring and wishes fulfilled. It also has purely practical effects. The end of winter and beginning of spring brings various diseases and a body is weakened. Coloured powders are traditionally made of natural drugs, such as neem, turmeric and kumkum. These compounds have beneficial effects on the regeneration of organism after a hard winter.