Members of the Hindu Center of Charlotte celebrated Holi – the ancient festival of colors and spring on Sunday.
The “Rang de Holi!” celebration marks the end of winter and the start of spring. Revelers paint their faces with bright colors using colored water and dry powder.
Sunday’s event also featured Indian music and food, including sweet ladus, a treat made from chick pea flour.
In Hinduism, the world’s oldest major religion, “Rang de Holi!” signifies the victory of good over evil. It is traditionally celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Phalgun – March in the Gregorian calendar, which is used in the United States.
The Hindu Center of Charlotte was started more 30 years ago on farmland in east Charlotte. It now draws 4,000 families who have moved to the Charlotte region since. Currently, the center is building a $3.2 million Hindu temple that will look like grander ones in India. When it is ready in early 2015, the temple will measure nearly 20,000 square feet and rise to a height of 81 feet. Tim Funk