Festivals have a special significance in Human life as they help in breaking the monotony of a boring routine and provide opportunities for social interactions and spending time with loved ones. India is a land of festivals and Holi is a popular festival celebrated across the country with tremendous zeal and enthusiasm.
In India most of the festivals have a mythological significance which is attributed to some God or Goddess. But very few people know that the rituals followed during festivals also have a scientific angle, which our forefather must have known. In this article we will be discussing about Science behind the ritual of Holika Dahan i.e. the lighting of bonfire.
March – The Month of Atmospheric Transition:
The festival of Holi mostly falls in the month of March. As we know, in India, March is a month of transition, when winter season gradually starts waning and gives way for summer. Just as in human beings, this transition triggers lot of changes in crops, plants, trees and the atmospheric air also, which is an ideal environment for all sorts of bacteria and viruses to thrive and spread.
This is the reason why many people develop allergies and respiratory problems during this time of the year. More importantly, if you check the records, most of the virus outbreaks have occurred during this period.
Benefits of Holika Dahan:
Holika Dahan, which is the main ritual of this festival involves lighting up bonfire. Devotees come to this bonfire with various offerings and conduct a parikrama around the bonfire. It is to be noted that when the bonfire is at its peak, the temperature in the vicinity reaches much higher above 50 degree Celsius. We all know that bacteria and virus cannot withstand such high temperature and thus gets killed. Moreover, while performing parikrama, similar phenomenon occurs in our body as well and this too works as a sort of cleansing. In India, Holika Dahan ritual is performed almost at every major crossroad.
So many bonfires lit together around the same time, definitely helps in bringing down the number of bacteria and viruses in residential areas.
We hope, this article must have given you a wider perspective on the ritual of Holika Dahan.
Happy Holi
Team HopyTapy