Happy Holi!

We celebrated the Indian holiday of Holi this month. Some of our friends have lived in India, whether for work or missions, and they organized a Holi festival. It was so much fun!

One of the families imported a rickshaw when they moved back to the USA, so it was a highlight of the evening. A rickshaw is a bicycle with an attached metal carriage. It's used like a taxi in India. The children loved piling into the carriage and riding up and down the residential streets. Each of the husbands took turns serving as the fuel source. The rickshaw was very heavy and had only one gear, so it was a bit tricky to drive.

We enjoyed a wonderful Indian feast, which is the highlight for me. I love Indian food very much, so I relish any opportunities to enjoy it! It's very fun when there are several varieties of dishes so I can try lots of new things. YUM! Whenever we go out to eat (which isn't very often) I pick Indian restaurants. On my birthday I prefer Indian desserts over the traditional birthday cake.

The culminating event was the dye-fight. Holi is a day when Indians buy powdered dyes and throw them at each other, completely covering your clothing and skin. Our hostess had made several bags of dye in red and yellow, so the guests all chased each other and dusted them with color. It was so much fun! I've always wanted to particpate in Holi festivities, so this was very memorable. Matthew really got into the spirit of things and dyed everyone with gusto. Sarah hid in the house because she didn't want to ruin her pretty shirt. Daniel had been run over by the rickshaw right before the dye fight, so he only came out at the very end and was given the last bag of dye to play with. Nathan had stayed inside to comfort Daniel and only came out at the end. Luckily Dan's ankle didn't suffer lasting damage from the intimacy with the rickshaw wheel, so he perked up and enjoyed the rest of the evening.