Color Run? More like Holi Fun.

Now, you’ve probably heard of “color runs”, where you run a short distance, usually a 5k, and the race facilitators throw vibrantly colored dust at you as you run by. These colored powders are very entertaining to play around with, especially during these runs, but they are not just dyes to make running “fun”—they actually stem from a practice in the Hindu culture.Holi, considered one of the most celebrated and revered festivals in India, is essentially a celebratory color war between family members and loved ones. According to an article describing Holi, “Everybody wants to be the first one to color the other. In the ensuing battle of colors, everybody is drowned not just in colors of gulal but also in love and mirth”.

This love-filled festival originated as a combination of mythological stories. The Story of Holika and the Story of Radha and Krishan both gave rise to elements of this celebration. The Story of Holika influenced this day by contributing the celebration of good over evil. Thus, the celebration of Holi is always marked with an extremely positive connotation and when Holi is mentioned, most people who know about it will light up with a smile due to the positive mood about the celebration. The Story of Radha and Krishan explains the element of spreading color as a sign of love, which in essence, is the entire holiday itself. Holi also celebrates the coming of spring and the harvest, which is very important to the entire country of India, as their history is mostly agricultural.

Although the history is steadfast and the practice is widely accepted, the vibrantly colored powder used may seem unsettling to some people. A common question people ask when they see pictures of people celebrating Holi are “is the color and dye safe?” Originally, these dyes were made from various plant sources. For example, the color green was from the ground neem leaf, the colors yellow and red were from turmeric, the color blue came from indigo, and charcoal produced the color black. These all-natural sources of color were non-toxic, and people knew where they came from. In modern days with increased technology and more intense chemistry, these dyes became synthesized, and could be toxic in some cases. “Gulal”, a modern, mostly benign dye is made out of 95% cornstarch and 5% synthetic dyes. This blend, known as FD&C in the United States, is what adds color to multicolored candy, so it is safe. But, lower quality dyes that sell for cheaper prices entice some customers. These dyes contain harmful ingredients like copper sulfate, mercury sulfide, chromium iodide, lead oxide, and aluminum bromide. Such chemicals cause symptoms such as skin lesions, burning, and eye irritation among other health problems. So, one must be careful when purchasing the dye to make sure none of these painful consequences arise on what is supposed to be a happy, joyful, pain-free celebration.

Some may think that these color runs exploit the Hindu culture, which is in part true. The symbolic meals and cultural significance of Holi are both lost in this new way of marketing a 5k to the general public. But, the theme of gathering together friends and being joyful is not lost, which is the main theme of Holi. In order to lessen the feeling of cultural appropriation, companies promoting these color runs could provide a brief background of Holi, so that participants around the world would become familiar with this amazingly positive festival.