Holi Festival: Students & Youth Spread Colour And Happiness

HINDU COUNCIL OF NEW ZEALAND Incorporated
(Registered with Charities Commission Regd No: CC31281; Donee organisation status from IRD)
Organisation in Special Consultative status with the Economic and Social Council since 2012

MEDIA RELEASE (18 Mar 2013)
Students And Youth To Spread Colour And Happiness With The Holi Festival

Holi – the Hindu Festival of Colours – will be celebrated in Rotorua on Saturday, 23 March 2013.

Holi is a festival of fun and is celebrated by people covering each other with coloured powder, and drenching each other with coloured water.

Annual celebration of this colourful festival bridges social and personal differences, bringing people and communities together.

In New Zealand, 21 March is celebrated as the Race Relations Day to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Hindu Council of New Zealand introduced this Hindu festival to the Rotorua community in 2010.

“Celebrating Holi with different colours and bringing various community groups (especially the youth) together is symbolic of this important international day” said Murali Magesan, the coordinator of Rotorua Holi Festival 2013.

As Hindu Council of New Zealand is keen to take this philosophy to the wider community, it is working with Western Heights High School in Rotorua.

“The support, participation and positive feedback from previous year’s Holi celebrations encouraged us to continue with this festival in Rotorua and Wellington” said Dr Rajiv Chaturvedi, Public Relations Officer of Hindu Council of New Zealand.

One of the key objectives is to encourage youth to not only participate but also learn to organise events to develop and nourish a community spirit. This year’s Holi festival will be run by youths – mainly teenagers from various communities.

In Rotorua the official festival will start at 2.00 pm at Western Heights High School's top field. Here people will get an opportunity to indulge in customary revelry with coloured powder and water.

Please be advised that the clothes you wear will get coloured, old clothes are probably best!

In Rotorua this year, the Holi Festival will be done as a fundraiser of Western Heights High School's Stage Challenge so there is a gold coin entry. Your family and friends are invited to the Holi Festival of Colours on Saturday, 23 March 2013.

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Photo caption: Mr Trevor Maxwell (Deputy Mayor of Rotorua) and other delegates of Hindu Maori delegation to India in 2012 celebrating Holi Festival in Jaipur, capital city of Rajasthan, India.

ENDS

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