Phagu Purnima is another name for Holi where
Phagu means
the sacred red powder and
Purnima or Pune is the full moon day, on
which the festival ends.
At some places like Bihar, Holi is also known as
Phagwa as it is
celebrated in the later part of the month of Phalgun and the early part of
Chaitra in the Hindu calendar. This corresponds to the English months of
March-April.
The concept of New Year (Samvatsar) varies in the different provinces of
our country. In some provinces, the month commences from the
'Krishna-Paksha' on the other hand in some provinces it commences from
'Shukla-Paksha'. For the former, the year ends on 'Purnima' of the month of
Phalgun. The new years begins next day - Chaitra, 1st day of the Krishna
Paksha. For them on this day the last year has died. For this reason in some
provinces like Bihar and UP. Holika dahan is also called
'Samvatsar
Dahan'. On this day all the bitterness and evil memories of the last
year are burnt in the fire and the New Year is begun with a celebration.
