“Holi” the festival of colors, love, and joy signifies the triumph of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and the end of winter. Holi is around the corner disseminating its delightful vibes across the spirit of individuals. As the saying goes, “divided by religion and united by culture”, despite being a Hindu festival, it has been the choicest among people of all religions, castes, and culture.
It is not only recognized for its colorful splendor but also for a myriad buffet of delicacies that satiate the taste buds just right. In today’s era, Holi is not only celebrated in India but all across the globe. It transcends the barrier of age, sex, culture, and social status and so hence has been fondly adapted and celebrated by people of various regions and multicultural communities.
Falling in March (mostly), marking the transition from winter to spring, Holi is celebrated for typically two days. The first day is known as “Holika Dahan” in which lightning of bonfires is done to mark the victory of Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, over Holika, the demoness.
The second day is “Rangwali Holi” in which people come together to open spaces play and smear colored water and colors famously known as “Gulaal” on each other. The synonym of Holi can be joy, merriment, and fun as it evokes dopamine (the feel-good or happy hormones) in humans and brings unity among individuals. What adds to its charm is the traditional sweets and savory dishes that are prepared and shared among family and friends, adding to the festive cheer as well as the atmosphere that is filled with music, dance, and the sound of joyous shouts of “Holi Hai!” (It’s Holi).
We got you some brilliant Holi celebration ideas in office. Let’s dive in to get more actionable insights on the festival and celebration of Holi at work.
What is Holi?
“Holi” is a Hindu festival of colors, joy, merriment and love. The reasons for its celebration are multiple and hold greater significance in the lives of individuals. Let’s understand in detail:
1. The Victory of Good Over Bad: The first and foremost reason for its celebration is to celebrate the triumph of good over evil where Prahlad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, was saved from the evil intentions of his father’s sister, Holika, who tried to kill him by sitting in a bonfire with him. Holika was conferred a boon to stay protected from burning, however, Prahlad’s devotion to Lord Vishnu protected him, and Holika was burned instead. This marked the victory of good and since then, “Holika Dahan” the day before actual Holi is celebrated, and a bonfire is done to burn all the evil intentions and start afresh with good.
2. Transition of Winter to Spring: March, is typically known for the season transition where winters end and spring begins blooming the environment with colorful flowers and plants. This marks the end of dry winters and the onset of warmer weather. The time to welcome the light and vibrancy over dullness.
3. Time of Harvest: Many states in India such as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and more, mark the festival of Holi as harvest day. They consider it to be the beginning of harvest and enjoy the fruit of the harvest, harvested in the year. Farmers rejoice in the abundance of their crops and offer prayers and thanksgiving to God for being merciful in their yields.
4. Social Unity: Holi promotes social unity and brings together people of varied castes, religions, communities, and cultures. The festival temporarily diminishes barriers among people having varied ingrained thoughts and backgrounds. People come together and smear colors on each other, dance, sing, and make merriment along with enjoying the “Holi Special” delicacies and sweets hence satiating their gustatory bud.
Holi Celebration Ideas in Office
Wondering how to celebrate Holi in office for both on-site and virtual employees?
No worries we have your back, as we provide you with the 12 best Holi celebration ideas in office that will ignite a sense of belongingness, and inclusion and will bring merriment to your office atmosphere.
Let us first get in to know the best Holi celebration in office ideas for on-site employees or the regular employees coming to the office for work:
Holi Celebration Ideas for On-site Employees in the Office
Here are some delightful ideas to woo your employees and make the festival of Holi memorable for them. The Holi celebration ideas in office for on-site employees are:
1) DIY Competitions
Arrange DIY (Do-It-Yourself) competitions, where employees have to make or craft something using their skills. Here are some significant DIY ideas:
- Paint T-shirts– Ask the employees to reuse their old white T-shirts and paint in using fabric colors to give them a new look. This will not only be fun but also promote the motto of reduce-reuse-recycle which is environment friendly. Felicitate the top 3 artists for their creativity.
- Paint the Wall/Canvas – Make employees paint on the unused walls or canvas and show their creativity. You can assign teams to accomplish this task.
- Make Homemade Natural Colors – Task employees with making homemade, chemical-free colors using natural ingredients such as beetroot, spinach, blueberries, and more. Rewards those employees or teams who made varied and beautiful shades of colors.
- DIY Rangoli– Arrange a rangoli competition and ask employees to draw colorful rangolis on the floor. Felicitate the winners.
- Colorful Candles Making– Segregate employees into teams and assign them to make colorful scented candles. Reward the best.
2) Photo Booths & Cubicle Decors
Another Holi celebrating ideas in office is to keep photobooths and cubicle decor compitions. Ask your employees to decorate their cubicles in a Holi theme and dress up in accordance. In contrast, you can also ask them to dress up as per their state culture.
This will ignite inclusion and provide a chance for them to showcase their tradition and culture. This will help in understanding the diversified culture of various employees.
Photo booths are another significant idea, in which your employees will prepare a photobooth as per their team-decided theme. Reward the best photo booth.
3) Potluck
You can create a potluck where employees have to bring different dishes and assemble them and make it a grand food event. Each employee is supposed to bring only one item. You can also make chits of various items and ask employees to randomly select a chit. Whatever comes in the chit has to be bought by the employee.
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4) Holi Party
For this, you can arrange various activities in the office such as music DJ concerts, dance competitions, or open space discotheques, arrange beverage and food stalls for refreshments at the office space or open space in the office, you can even ask employees to bring their state’s or communities’ famous dessert of Holi for the Holi celebration in office.
5) Let’s Play Holi
The Holi celebrating ideas in the office is a fun way of engaging the employees. Face painting and so can be a great way to have fun. One of the best way of Holi celebration in office is to play with colors. It can be a fun way to induce collaboration and inclusion among your employees to come together and cherish the moments. Set up a Holi party in an open space near your office where the employees can mobilize and play colors. You can even use herbal or homemade colors made by the employees for the Holi celebration.
6) Charades
Holi celebration ideas in office can also include charades games. A Holi-based charades game can be a great way to engage your employees in a fun activity. You can also arrange various rewards for the same to encourage your employees to actively participate in the Holi celebration in office.
Holi Celebration Ideas for Virtual Employees
The Holi celebration ideas in office can be multiple due to the availability of employees in the office. But for remote and hybrid working employees there can be constraints that arise due to connectivity issues, work timings, etc.
However, we have the best Holi celebration ideas for your employees to celebrate holi but who work from remote locations. Here are some:
1) Holi Pictionary
One of the best Holi celebration ideas for virtual employees is the Holi pictionary in which you can divide employees into teams and play the game of Holi-themed pictionary. One member from each team draws a Holi-related word or phrase while the others try to guess what it is within a time limit. Rotate drawing duties among team members and keep score to determine the winning team.
2) Colorful Food Contest
The most fun way to celebrate Holi virtually with your employees is to ask them to cook food of various colors using natural ingredients. The winner will be decided on the color of the food items. The more the colors, the more the scope to win.
3) Virtual Holi Storytelling
It is a fun way to celebrate Holi virtually. Ask your employees to share their memorable Holi story or the most fun way will be to ask your employees to share their Holi tradition as per their culture and state. This will evoke inclusion and help in understanding why is Holi celebrated and what is its significance in various cultures and stare.
4) Virtual DJ and Guess the Holi Song
Why not arrange a virtual DJ party, where a professional DJ or any DJ among your employees is asked to play Holi theme-based songs and groove to the vibe of Holi. Yes sounds fun, isn’t it? You can also play the guess the song challenge in which you play the initial music of the song and ask your virtual employees to guess the same. You will have to make teams for this as individual play might consume a lot of time.
5) Colorful Dress Code
One of the best Holi celebration ideas in office for virtual employees is to set up a dress code. Ask your employees to dress up in accordance with Holi or give them any color theme (colorful Holi, or only Blues kind of Holi theme) and reward the best-dressed virtual employee.
6) Holi Themed Charades
For the Holi celebration ideas for virtual employees, the most top-rated and convenient fun activity is charades. Make teams and ask them to use a charades word generator or app to generate Holi-themed words or phrases for the game. Set up a time limit and ask them to act within the limit and make other members of the team understand the movie with non-verbal clues. No verbal Clues are allowed.
Note: For arranging a virtual Holi celebration for the employees working in remote locations choose a video conferencing platform that supports screen sharing and allows participants to see each other during the game.
Why We Celebrate Holi in the Office
Celebrating Holi in office has a massive impact on the workforce and workflow of employees as it not only contributes to boosting the spirit of employees but also enhances their connection with the organization.
The celebration showcases the efforts of the organization in promoting inclusion and building a robust work culture that believes in respecting diversity.
The reasons for Holi celebrations in office are myriad and have multiple significances such as:
- It promotes inclusivity as employees irrespective of their religious background and rivalry, come together to celebrate the joyous occasion with enthusiasm and fun.
- To resolve conflicts between teams and foster consensus among them.
- To encourage diversity and promote a sense of camaraderie in the office.
- To create a joyous atmosphere at the workplace that uplifts employee morale.
- To encourage teamwork and collaboration via celebrations
- To showcase the organization’s commitment to inclusion and positive work culture.
- Enhance employees’ experience and provide them with a cherishing experience.
- To offer an opportunity for employees to rejuvenate, relax, and rewind.
- To diminish creativity rut or burnout that occurs due to prolonged work hours, monotonous working, and stress.
- To build a robust work culture inclusive of unity, respect, trust, etc.
When is Holi Celebrated
The occasion of Holi usually falls in February or March it comes on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Phalguna, which usually occurs in February or March. The main day of Holi, known as Rangwali Holi or Dhuleti, is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervor, typically lasting for a day.
Holi Hai…!
Holi celebration in the office is a great way to enhance inclusion and bring positivity to the workplace environment as it fosters a sense of camaraderie. The vibrancy of colors brings along vibrancy in the relationship of employees and revitalizes the enthusiasm of unity, love, positivity, and happiness among all.
Hope this blog on Holi celebration ideas in office has helped you plan your activities on Holi. Remember Holi is a festival of joy, enjoy it to the fullest with the whole spirit but do not forget the professional etiquette and ethical boundaries inclusive of, respect, and mindful consideration of individual preferences and sensitivities. Take care of the precautionary measures and avoid hampering animals and the environment by using chemical-rich colors. Do not overshadow “Bura nah mano holi hai” to cross boundaries that seem unethical or affect the emotional, physical, and mental confines of people.
So, why not gear up to celebrate the spirit of positiveness and unity with ecstaticism by smearing colors, love, and joy. Make sure to serve happiness and relish your favorite delicacies with your family, office tribe, and all your favorites. Wishing you a safe and ecstatic Holi. Play safe, be safe, and keep others safe. “Holi Hai…!”.
FAQs on Holi Celebration Ideas in Office
1. What is the Game for Holi in Office?
There are various games that you can arrange to play in office. Here are some:
- Card (Tash) Games such as poker, 29, Call bray, teen patti, and more
- UNO card Game
- Water balloon Fight
- Play with Colors
- Bingo or Housie
- Holi Themed Charades
2. How do you say Happy Holi Professionally?
You can these 5 Professional wishes to greet your office tribe:
- Wishing you a vibrant and joyous Holi. “Play Safe and Be Safe.”
- May the colors of Holi bring along happiness, love, and prosperity. Happy Holi.
- Wishing you a Holi that is as vibrant and colorful as your professional journey!
- Sending you warm wishes on this Holi that may enlighten your journey to success. Happy Holi
- “Warm wishes for a festive and joyful Holi celebration!
3. What is the Dress Code for Holi in Office?
The dress code can vary for different organizations, yet to be generic the best color to wear for a vibrant occasion of Holi is “White” as it absorbs the beautiful shades of colors in it and reflects a mix of all. White also signifies acceptance which reflects your acceptance of all the blessings, love, joy, and happiness that are smeared via colors by your dear ones.
4. How to Decorate the Office on Holi?
To decorate the office on the occasion of Holi, you can use various props such as:
- Colorful Balloons
- Beautiful Rangolis at the entrance of the office
- Floral Arrangements
- Colorful Dupatta Decor
- Colorful Fabric drapes
- LED lights and String Lights Decors
- Holi themed Banners and Posters
- Bollywood Holi Themed Posters and more.
5. How do you celebrate Holi virtually in the office?
To celebrate Holi virtually in the office as well as to make your employees participate and encourage them to participate, you will have to arrange various games and fun activities such as:
- DIY challenges
- Holi Themed Dress Code
- Virual Games and Activities
- Digital Photo Booth
- Face Painting
- Virtual DJ and Music
- Virtual Cooking Challenges
5. Is Holi a national holiday
No, Holi is not a National Holiday. Even, in some organizations it is considered as a floater holiday. The holiday on Holi varies as per company policies, job location, and the projects you are entitled to. So, it is recommended to check with your company policies and leave policies to ensure a holiday on the occasion of Holi.
