After two years of limited celebrations due to COVID-19 restrictions, many Holi festivals are back in full swing. This week, Hindus around the world are celebrating Holi, the Festival of Colors—a springtime celebration in which revelers throw brightly colored powders at friends and strangers alike. Celebrants welcome the arrival of spring, commemorate Krishna’s pranks, and allow one another a chance to drop inhibitions and simply play and dance together. Gathered below are images of this year’s Holi festivals from Nepal, India, Pakistan, and El Salvador.
Holi 2023: The Festival of Colors
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![Women smeared with bright colors sing and dance in a street.]()
Read moreWomen smeared with colors sing and dance in a street as they celebrate Holi in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 6, 2023. #
Bikram Rai / AP -
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![A large celebratory crowd of people tosses a young person in the air.]()
Read moreHindu devotees daubed in color throw a fellow devotee in the air as they celebrate Holi at a temple in Salangpur in the western state of Gujarat, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Amiit Dave / Reuters -
![A man whose face is smeared with colored powder smiles.]()
Read moreA man with his face smeared with colored powder smiles during Holi celebrations in Mumbai, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Rafiq Maqbool / AP -
![Several children splash one another with colored water.]()
Read moreChildren play with colored water as they celebrate Holi in Hyderabad, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Mahesh Kumar A. / AP -
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![A large crowd gathers around a tall bonfire.]()
Read moreDevotees gather around the sacred fire, "holi ka dahan," during a ritual prior to the Holi festival, near Gandhinagar, India, on March 6, 2023. #
Ajit Solanki / AP -
![Several young women with color smeared on their faces pose together for a photo.]()
Read moreYoung women from the Pakistani Hindu community smear their faces with colors to to celebrate the Holi festival in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 6, 2023. #
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![A person smiles while another person mashes colored powder into their face and hair.]()
Read moreA man applies colored powder to his friend's head during Holi celebrations in Mumbai on March 7, 2023. #
Rajanish Kakade / AP -
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![A group of people hold devices in their hands that look like pistols, shooting out clouds of colored smoke.]()
Read moreHindu priests use colored-smoke guns to celebrate Holi at a temple in Salangpur, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Amiit Dave / Reuters -
![A large crowd of people stand near a stage as two clouds of purple powder fall on them.]()
Read moreHindu devotees celebrate Holi at a temple in Salangpur on March 7, 2023. #
Amiit Dave / Reuters -
![A woman tosses her head, sending a cloud of colored powder up from her long hair.]()
Read moreA woman tosses colored powder from her hair during Holi celebrations in Kolkata, India, on March 7, 2023. #
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![A person smiles, their face covered in multicolored powder.]()
Read moreSalvadorans celebrate the traditional Holi festival in a park in the historical center of San Salvador, El Salvador, on March 4, 2023. #
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![A group of boys covered in colored powder laugh together.]()
Read moreChildren celebrate Holi in Jammu, India, on March 7, 2023. #
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![A large crowd of people in a temple square are doused with colored water by people standing above.]()
Read moreHindu devotees celebrate Holi during a traditional gathering at a temple in the village of Nandgaon, in India's Uttar Pradesh state, on March 1, 2023. #
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![A woman carries her dog during an outdoor celebration.]()
Read moreA woman carries her dog during a Holi celebration organized by the Indian embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador, on March 4, 2023. #
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![A crowd of people celebrate, surrounded by clouds of colored powder.]()
Read moreHindu devotees take part in Holi celebrations inside a temple in Nandgaon, India, on March 1, 2023. #
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![A person covered in orange powder looks toward the camera.]()
Read moreA person smeared with colors celebrates the Holi festival in Hyderabad, India, on March 6, 2023. #
Mahesh Kumar A. / AP -
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![A group of students playfully smear one another with colored powder.]()
Read moreStudents daubed in colored powder celebrate Holi at Guru Nanak Dev University, in Amritsar, India, on March 6, 2023. #
Narinder Nanu / AFP / Getty -
![People covered in colored powder walk in a crowd; some carry offerings on plates.]()
Read moreHindu devotees with offerings make their way to a car carrying an idol of the deity Krishna during Holi celebrations in Kolkata, India, on March 5, 2023. #
Bikas Das / AP -
![A person lies on the ground smiling, their face covered in yellow powder.]()
Read moreA woman smeared with color plays during Holi celebrations in Prayagraj, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP -
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![A small group of people smeared with colors pose for a selfie.]()
Read morePeople smeared with colors take a selfie during celebrations marking Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, in Mumbai, India, on March 7, 2023. #
Rajanish Kakade / AP
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