Religious festival
Phagwa, the Hindu festival also known as Holi, is a national holiday in Suriname. It welcomes spring, celebrates the victory of good over evil and marks the Hindu new year, with songs, coloured powder and coloured water.
Photo: Nina Luong / Unsplash
Around March, after the full moon of the month of Phalgun
Hindu communities across Suriname, and Surinamese Hindu communities in the Netherlands.
Join in the songs, share sweets and snacks, and sprinkle coloured powder and water in a spirit of joy.
Happy Phagwa!: often said in Dutch as “Fijne Phagwa!”
Phagwa, or Holi Phagwa, is a Hindu festival celebrated each year around March. It combines a spring festival, a celebration of the victory of good over evil and the start of the new year in the Hindu calendar. The evening before, on the night of the full moon, Hindus hold Holika Dahan, a ceremony at which a pyre is lit, recalling the story of the devoted young Prahlad, who was protected from the fire, while his wicked aunt Holika was not. The ceremony includes prayer and the singing of devotional and Holi songs, such as chautal. In Suriname, Phagwa is a national holiday.
The colourful celebrations begin the morning after Holika Dahan, once the ashes have cooled and the community’s pandit has led the morning service. People sing and dance, share snacks and sweets, and greet each other by sprinkling perfume, scented water, coloured powder and coloured water. Streets, temples and community centres fill with music and colour, and everyone is welcome to join in. In the Netherlands, Surinamese Hindu communities also celebrate Phagwa with gatherings and events. Customs vary between communities and families.
Phagwa is a time to let go of the old year, put differences aside and begin again with joy.
Learn about Phagwa at home:
Coming soon to the App Store.
If you join a Phagwa celebration, wear old clothes you do not mind getting coloured, and protect your eyes and phone. Ask before sprinkling colour on anyone, and be gentle with older people and very young family members. Temples and religious ceremonies deserve quiet respect.
Yes. Phagwa is the name commonly used in Suriname and the Caribbean for Holi, the Hindu spring festival.
The ceremony on the evening before Phagwa, when a pyre is lit to symbolise the triumph of good over evil, accompanied by prayers and songs.
Yes. Phagwa is one of Suriname’s national holidays.
