Holi Puja is not compulsory throughout the festival. Rather, the Puja is to be done on the first day of the Holi festival for a few hours. The next day is dedicated to color play, food, and happiness. There is no Puja that people need to do on this occasion. But the Puja of the first day is crucial and should take place properly.
The Puja of Holi is also said to be the Puja of Holika. It begins with the lighting of the bonfire. The bonfire consists of wood logs, cow dungs, dry leaves and other combustible material. It is also a tradition in a few parts of India to steal the wood logs and cow dung for Holika Dahan from the neighboring homes.
On the wooden structure of the bonfire, there are sculptures of Holika and Prahlad. People make both of them with mud and dry leaves. The sculpture of Holika is made of combustible material. Whereas Prahlad is made of incombustible material. Because it is to depict that Prahlad will return alive even after the fire extinguishers. And Holika will be burnt.
The Puja of Holika starts after the sunset. It is necessary to abide by the correct timing, the Mahurat of Holi. So when the timing starts, people light the bonfire. And till the fire extinguishes, the Puja continues. It is said that if the Mahurat of Holika is not followed, all the Puja will result in the worst circumstances. So following the timing of Holika is a must for everyone.
People believe that the fire that they light is able to eliminate all the negativity and evil spirits. Not only from their homes, but also from the whole earth. It is a must to clear the hearts and forget the anger. If it is any. Only after that, the true spirit of Holi will complete.
People take the ashes of the bonfire to their homes. They believe that these ashes will bring happiness in their homes. They also apply some part of it on their bodies. It is because they believe that it will make them healthy by killing all the germs by that Holy Ash.
Some people also worship Lord Kamadeva on the occasion of Holika Dahan. Females of the family prepare food that they offer to the Lord and pray for the health and well being of the whole family.On the occasion of Holi when we do Puja, we must pray for the betterment of everyone around us. We must pray for the well being of people that are living in hard circumstances around us. We should forget all the differences and pray for the betterment of our opponents too. The whole humanity and the whole earth needs our prayers. So we must pray from the core of our hearts and ready to receive holi wishes 2020.