Every year, Utah’s Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple hosts the Festival of Colors, inviting Utahns to celebrate the Hindu holiday Holi in vibrant bursts of color.
Events are held in Spanish Fork and Ogden, and the festival traces its roots — or at least the origin of the brilliant colors — to Hindu legends of Krishna, a deity with blue skin, who feared that his love, Radha, would be repulsed by his strange appearance. Krishna’s mother advised him to playfully color his wife’s face.
Krishna did so, and Radha was endeared by the act. This story became the mythological foundation of the festival where participants dust one another with vibrantly pigmented chalk.
While the Holi Festival stems from the Hindu traditions of India and Nepal, the Utah Krishnas, who host the event, invite those of any faith to participate, as it is a celebration of spirit and acceptance.
