Celebrating far from home: Holi in Luxembourg

Garima Pandey, originally from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

I grew up in Jabalpur, central India. My husband and I moved to Singapore where we lived for eight years. We came to Luxembourg two and a half years ago with our son, who is now seven years old. When we arrived, it took a few months to adjust. India and Singapore are both very vibrant, crowded and hot, humid places. But after six months we started to appreciate the calm of Luxembourg, and the improved work life balance meant we were able to give our time to one another and enjoy our weekends together.

Holi is a two-day festival, but growing up, the preparations started at least a week before that. There were a lot of different snacks and Indian desserts to be made. In every household, you would see all the mums, gathered together, cooking, visiting one another's kitchens and helping each other out. One of the most famous desserts is gujiya, a sweet fried dumpling and it is always the yummiest thing!

The day before Holi, we have a bonfire, based on Indian folklore and the triumph of good over evil. On the first day of Holi, we wake up, say prayers, accept blessings from our elders, and one elder will put colours on the figures of the gods, before putting the colours on each member of the household. Then we go outside and continue our celebrations, putting colours on our friends and family, and even strangers. In India, we use 'wet' colours by putting the powder in water balloons or water pistols! We would usually wear old clothes, but some people buy special white clothes. For days afterwards, we would find leftover bits of colour and paint in our hair or inside our ears!

When you live abroad, away from your family, preserving cultures and traditions from your home country is very important. To stay connected during Holi, we speak to every one of our family members on a video call to exchange blessings. This can take around one to two hours and we do it first thing in the morning, just after our prayers, due to the time difference. Even our 80- and 90-year-old relatives embrace the technology of touch screens and smartphones to give us their blessings. If there is someone we don't manage to speak to, we send a message or a voice recording.

We try to teach our son about the importance of Indian festivals, and it makes me feel like it's worth the effort when I see his interest and enjoyment. Now he is a bit older, he starts to look forward to Holi a few weeks in advance. He really likes celebrating and playing with the colours. We attend the Radhadesh festival in Belgium where we visit the temple and enjoy the singing, dancing and mantras. I am also a member of Moien Bharat, a group comprising mostly of North Indians living in Luxembourg. They organised a Holi festival last year and lots of people came, so this year they are looking for a bigger venue!

Photo taken at Radhadesh Holi festival. / © Garima Pandey

Nimkee Gupta, originally from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

I was born in Nigeria. I've lived in more than half of the Indian states as well as Zurich, Sao Paolo and Singapore. My husband and I came to work in Luxembourg in 2017. After having my son and doing a second MBA at the University of Luxembourg, I now work for one of the Big Four and am recovering from Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. It has been an interesting journey to find my place here. The natural beauty of the country is very inspiring. My son and husband absolutely love the place.

Holi marks the transition from winter to spring. Like every festival within the realm of Hinduism, Holi has a mythological aspect. One version of the story tells of how Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha celebrated the day by playing with colours and this is where the powder, known as gulal or abir, comes from. Each colour represents shades of life: blue for rebirth, red for fertility, green for harmony, orange for optimism, and so on. Nowadays, there is more of a focus on health and sustainability, so the colours tend to be made from natural substances such as cornstarch, leaves and flowers.

Holi is celebrated in different ways across India. I am from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh where Holi is celebrated with a special fervour. Flowers, water balloons and coloured gulal cover the streets while Holi-based songs fill the air. Families have prayer ceremonies and then get together to eat many sweet and savoury snacks including: Gujiya or sweet dumplings, paired with salty fired crackers called Namak Pare; Puran Poli which are lentil flatbreads; Dahi bhallas or fritters with sweet and sour sauces and yoghurt; and Thandai, a cool drink made of nuts, seeds, rose and milk.

Holi has evolved quite a bit in Luxembourg. The largest celebration is hosted by the Indian Association Luxembourg (IAL) and everyone is invited to participate. With Indian music, dancing, and cuisine to enjoy, the event brings all fun-loving souls together. They also organise a Bollywood night with live DJs. A bit further afield in Durbuy, Belgium, the Domaine de Radhadesh organises an annual Spring Holi Festival. Devotees at the Hare Krishna temple put on an amazing event with music, colours and a feast for everyone to immerse themselves in. My son finds immense joy in immersing himself in our Indian heritage and my workplace encourages its employees to bring their culture into the office. I am proud of my Indian heritage, and I am lucky to be a member of various groups that inspire and celebrate diversity.

Last year, it was Holi that pulled me out of my postoperative pain and depression following cancer surgery. The idea of celebrating Holi filled me with positive energy, and I wanted to be a part of the festivities to let the joy flow around me. Family and friends wore face masks to protect my immune system, and we enjoyed some food and colours together. These family-centred celebrations are at the core of the Indian way of life.

© Nimkee Gupta

Anila Rambal, originally a Kashmiri Pandit, grew up in Mumbai, Maharashtra in India

Born to Kashmiri parents, I spent my first 20 years living in Mumbai before I moved around India for my studies. I then migrated to the US and got married before moving to Paris to live with my husband. We settled down together in Luxembourg in 2015 and had our two children here. Living here is different. I'm a city girl, and I still feel a strong connection to Mumbai and New York. But I embrace my life in Luxembourg and my children are happy growing up here.

Through my travels and experience of living across the Northern hemisphere, I have observed that there is a concept of saying goodbye to the harsh winter and welcoming the spring. It's like a cultural connection based on the changing of the seasons. In Holi, we light the bonfire to burn away the darkness as in Hindu culture, fire cleanses everything. Actually, this is similar to the Buergbrennan in Luxembourg, which typically happens in February and is based on the same philosophy of burning away the winter.

As Holi is not a traditional festival for Kashmiris, my parents themselves did not celebrate it. So, my earlier memories of celebrating Holi are at daycare or with neighbours from our apartment block. We did the colours in gardens or on the streets where strangers used to throw water balloons at one another! I don't have fond memories of this, because it used to hurt! But we have a saying which is "Bura Mat Mano, Holi Hai" – which means, "Don't feel bad, it's just Holi!"

As I consider my different experiences of Holi across India, it was a very commercial Holi in Mumbai - just a one-day festival, and people bought in the snacks and drinks. However, in other places, such as my in-laws who live in the central eastern part of India, Holi lasts much longer, people buy new clothes, they cook for days in advance and eat meat which elevates the festival. In Pune at my university campus, we played Holi with mud instead of colours. It's the best mud bath you can get - you don't need to go to a spa or have a facial when you can play mud Holi!

During my five years in the US, I never experienced Holi with colours. We would tend to get together with friends or work colleagues, visit a temple and have a potluck. In Paris, we played colours in a local park with the Indian families in our community and shared food afterwards. There is a big event in Paris at the Jardin D'Acclimatation but I've never attended personally. We took the children to the Radhadesh festival in Belgium last year. They had never really seen anything like that before and they liked it a lot. We also celebrated with the Moien Bharat group in Luxembourg where we played with colours and ate lunch together.

Obviously, I try to preserve my culture because I was born and brought up in India. Everything at home, the language, the food, it's all Indian. But my children were born here, so they are fully integrated and enjoy many Luxembourgish traditions too, such as Liichtmëssdag, Émaischen at Easter and St Nicolas. I believe their fondest memories will belong to the place where they grow up. So, they will know about Holi and Diwali and other Indian festivals, but they will also feel a close connection to Luxembourgish traditions too.

Mud Holi instead of colours. / © Anila Rambal

Celebrating Holi 2025? Check out these local festivities!

• Moien Bharat party at New Spirit, Altwies on the 15th of March, head over to Instagram for further details
  
  
• Spring Holi Festival on 16th March at Radhadesh in Belgium, registration already open
  
  
• DJ night in Clausen on the 21st of March organised by the IAL, keep your eye on their website for info
  
  
• Gujarati Samaj Luxembourg Holi Celebration on the 22nd of March at the Koseli Restaurant, Senningen
  
  
• Holi Festival at the Jardin d'Acclimatation on the 18th of May
  
  
• Later in the year, watch out for the IAL Summer Holi edition in Esch-sur-Alzette in mid-July