Festival of Colors

Clouds of neon-colored powder enveloped villages across northern India last week as the spring Holi Festival began, coating people in a multitude of colors as in this photo submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot community on March 26.

With March 27 marking the beginning of the annual celebration—also known as the Festival of Colors—Hindu devotees of the god Krishna, an earthly manifestation of the god Vishnu, descended on Vrindavan (map) in the Uttar Pradesh region of India.

"Holi celebrates triumph over divisiveness and negativity," said Sheetal Shah, senior director of the Hindu American Foundation.

Celebrated on the day after the full moon in the month of Phalguna—which usually falls in early March—the major Hindu festival also marks the beginning of spring.

During the evening of the full moon, bonfires are lit to ward off spirits and to celebrate the victory of good over evil. The following day, people pile into the streets for the beginning of the central Holi ritual—the throwing of colored powders and water.