Holi | The festival of colors

An Indian woman’s face is smeared with colored powder during a Holi festival celebration in the Sivasagar district of northeastern Assam state. (AFP/Getty Images)

March 6, 2015 2:50 PM PT

Holi, India’s celebration of the arrival of spring, long ago ceased to be a festival for only Hindus.

Members of the Nepalese ethnic Madhesi community celebrate the Holi festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Narendra Shrestha / EPA)

Hindu men from the village of Nandgaon, India, throw colored powder at each other before joining a procession for the Holi festival near New Delhi. (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

Celebrants smear colored powder on the face of a girl during celebrations marking the Holi festival in Mumbai, India. (Rajanish Kakade / Associated Press)

Indian revelers play with colored powder during Holi celebrations in Hyderabad, India. (Noah Seelam / AFP/Getty Images)

Hindu men from the village of Nandgaon, India, pray at the Ladali, or Radha temple, before joining a procession for the Holi festival near New Delhi. (Saurabh Das / Associated Press)

A man smears the face of a woman with colored powder during celebrations marking Holi in Mumbai, India. (Rajanish Kakade / Associated Press)

A widow raises her hands as others throw colored powder on her during celebrations marking Holi at the Meera Sahabhagini Widow Ashram in Vrindavan, India. (Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)

A Hindu widow lies on ground covered by a mixture of colored powder, water and flower petals during celebrations to mark Holi at the Meera Sahabhagini Widow Ashram in Vrindavan, India. (Bernat Armangue / Associated Press)