Hindu Holi festival: Hindus across India and other South Asian countries, dressed mostly in white, smeared or sprayed friends and relatives with brightly colored powder Friday as millions celebrated the return of spring during Holi, the festival of colors.

Friday is a nationwide holiday in India, so people can participate in the raucous, joyfully messy celebration, which usually lands on the last full moon of the lunar month heralding the end of winter.

In neighboring Nepal, festival activities began Thursday and stretched across two days. The boisterous festival is observed in other South Asian countries and by many in the Indian diaspora.

Holi is one of India's biggest festivals, and millions of people make nostalgic journeys to their hometowns to celebrate with loved ones by lighting bonfires on festival eve, which signifies the triumph of good over evil. Gathering around the flames, family members sing, dance and pray to Hindu gods.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted Holi greetings to the nation on social media Friday. In a post on X, Modi wrote about the important benefits of the festival in bringing people together.

“Happy Holi to all of you. It is my wish that this holy festival full of joy and happiness infuses new enthusiasm and energy in everyone's life and also deepens the color of unity of the countrymen,” Modi posted in Hindi.

In one New Delhi park so many people hurled colored powder at one another that the air took on a rainbow haze, while others danced in the streets to music blaring from speakers. Water guns were the weaponry of choice for groups of young men who chased festival participants, already drenched in a variety of hues, through public parks and side streets.

Children took aim from a greater distance, perched on rooftops or balconies, where they flung water balloons filled with colored pigments and glitter at the revelers below.

The annual event also celebrates the mythical love affair between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha. On a larger scale, it signifies rebirth and rejuvenation across Hindu culture. VOA/SP