In honor of respecting, learning, and celebrating different cultures, the Otterbein Asian Community (OAC) hosted a Holi celebration event in front of the Campus Center.
On March 31st Otterbein University held its Holi Celebration bringing students together and embracing the joyful spirit of this traditional Indian celebration. The event was held outside the Campus Center, which held a lively and colorful atmosphere. There were various colored powders that were thrown onto people, and they had a variety of different activities such as face painting, water guns, throwing colors, music, and food. While the focus of the event was primarily for social fun, there were educational moments that occurred for people of different cultures to get a better chance to learn about what Holi is and why it is celebrated.
Holi is the festival of colors and a major Hindu celebration celebrating good over evil which is usually celebrated on the last full moon in the lunar month of Phalguna, which is typically in March by millions of Indians. Holi gained major significance by the first outdoor Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork, Utah in 1995.
Otterbein student Dylan Truong, the President of the Otterbein Asian Community and a Criminology Justice and Sociology major, explained how this event helped students from different cultures understand each other by building a sense of connection and sharing some common ground. Explaining that as humans, we all have our differences, which can also help bring us together. The event was supposed to be an engaging, meaningful, and educational experience.
Many individuals got that from the event. In addition, having multicultural events such as the Holi event occur on campus, is important. Truong says, “Events like these are very important for Otterbein as a whole because, it helps us celebrate everybody's differences, cultures, heritages, and traditions. Exposing those to others who aren’t familiar with those holidays can help people open up and be more mindful and educated about these holidays.”
Otterbein student Arya Janardhanan, the Secretary of the Otterbein Asian Community and a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) major mentioned that she felt that people understood Holi to a certain extent and explained that a couple of people came up to her, wanting to know the significance of Holi, what it was and why we celebrated it. So, they explained and educated them about what it was. The Holi celebration this year felt more authentic by having colored powders. “We celebrated Holi last year as well; however, we weren’t allowed to have the colored powders which made it feel more authentic in that way. Last year, it was just tie dying t-shirts" Janardhanan said.
As the colors faded and the event came to an end, it was clear that Otterbein’s Holi celebration was more than just a fun, social day of throwing colors and playing with water guns. It was about bringing individuals together, learning a bit more about each other’s cultures, and just having a good time. Everyone left not just covered in color, but with a newfound appreciation for other traditions which brings us closer and more connected to each other.
