Both China and India, two neighboring countries on the Asian continent, celebrate Spring festivals at the beginning of a year. Though the two countries bear different cultures and traditions, their festivals have much in common – both celebrations of color and joy.
Photo taken on January 19, 2023 shows red lanterns lighting the night sky over Xi'an, Shaanxi Province to create a festive atmosphere during the Spring Festival. /CFP
Red lanterns hanging from trees and shop eaves along streets, red couplets pasted on doors and red paper cuttings displayed on walls and windows… during the Spring Festival in China, which generally falls between the end of January and mid-February, every part of the country is immersed in a sea of red.
Thousands of people gather on streets, throwing handfuls of powder of various colors into the air to celebrate Holi on March 3, 2023, in Uttar Pradesh, India. /CFP
Holi is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, the end of winter, and the arrival of spring, which shares similarities with the Chinese Spring Festival. It was once a religious holiday across northern India and is now more widely celebrated across the whole country in February or March as it brings joy and breaks social barriers during the color fight.
Children celebrate Holi in Kolkata, India, on March 5, 2023, with their bodies and clothes stained with colored powder. /CFP
In Chinese, Holi is translated as "sa hong jie," literally meaning "scattering red festival." The most desirable activity of the festival is a color fight, during which people take to the streets and throw dry colored powder called gulal at each other, and play with liquid colors, water guns, and water balloons, forgetting their caste, gender, age and social status. The color of red is most used as it symbolizes love, fertility, and matrimony. While blue represents the Hindu god Krishna, green stands for new beginnings.
People perform the Yingge dance on the streets of Shantou, Guangdong Province, on February 25, 2023. /CFP
Beyond red, Spring Festival in China is also colorful. The Yingge dance, popular among Han people in Guangdong and Fujian, is a dazzling art form featuring various bright colors on costume and facial makeup. It originates from the ancient Nuo dance, with the aim of expelling evil spirits and plague. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the dance absorbed the story of "Water Margin" – one of China's four great classic novels – and has been gradually taking its current shape. Combining with Peking Opera and martial arts, the Yingge dance displays the power and courage of the heroes in the novel. Performers' facial makeup uses white as the bottom color on which red, green, and black are decorated to represent mystery, malevolence and horror.
Chinese Spring Festival and Indian Holi Festival share the similar themes of warding off the evil and welcoming the start of spring. Though they vary in rituals and customs, the nation-wide celebrations in the two countries are both filled with vibrant colors and overwhelmed by joy and happiness.