Holi Day (no, this is not misspelled!)

Today is Holi, or color day, a big Hindu festival day here in Nepal.  The schools are out and the citizens of Kathmandu are having a great time if the sounds we hear outside our apartment are any indication!  The festival is based on a wonderful Hindu story about a wicked king, a righteous son, a Hindu god and a wicked aunt.  In the end, the righteous son triumphs (with the help of the Hindu god) and the wicked aunt ends up in ashes.  It was originally tradition to celebrate the festival by putting ash on your forehead.  Now, however, it is celebrated by putting powdered paint in vivid colors not only on your own forehead, but on anyone nearby.  This morning we were visiting with our companion senior missionary couple, the Oliphants, in their apartment, when the family of our landlord invited us to celebrate color day with them.  Elder Weaver was the first one to cave to pressure; Sis. Weaver soon followed suit.  What followed was a rousing water fight between five adults and three adorable children.  Sometimes the water bags were filled with plain water; sometimes they were filled with colored water.  Sometimes you got drenched with an entire bucket of water and sometimes the perpetrator simply smeared a handful of yellow, red or green paint somewhere on your person. 

This is what we looked like when we finally beat a hasty retreat!  There are parts of our gray hair that are still a bit on the pink side.