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The Cypress, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA

Instead of heading home or to after-school activities like any other day, students gathered in the quad to celebrate Holi. They soon covered themselves in a variety of colored powder to welcome spring after the cold and harsh days of winter.

Holi is a widely celebrated ancient Hindu holiday that takes place throughout India and Nepal. The holiday welcomes the upcoming season of spring with a variety of joyous activities. Senior Rohan Chopra, co-president of the South Asian Student Association (SASA), said that the color-throwing is one of the most important aspects of this holiday.

“The whole idea of the holiday is to take this colored powder, called Gulaal, and to go out into the streets and throw it onto other people. For someone who’s never played it before, it might sound kind of awkward, like, ‘Why are you throwing powder on people?’ But it’s actually very popular in India,” Chopra said.

SASA co-president Keya Waikar said that the holiday and all of its traditions have a lot of significance for her and her family.

“For me and my family, Holi is a celebration of just having fun all together and really enjoying each other, and each other’s presence,” Waikar said.

Read the full story here.