Happy Holi Messages and Wishes for Family, Friends and Work
Holi is a festival you turn up for: the bonfire the night before, the friend's courtyard full of color in the morning, the aunt's house in the evening once everyone has washed. A message does the same job when you can't be there in person. Find the section for the person you're writing to, copy a message, and change one detail so it sounds like you. Copy any message for free, or get AI-written drafts on Plus and Premium.
Holi 2027 is on Monday, March 22, 2027, by the Hindu calendar for New Delhi, and Holika Dahan, the bonfire, is the evening before, on Sunday, March 21, 2027.
52 messages to copy: card notes, family, your partner, friends, someone new to Holi, someone to make up with, work, someone far away, someone grieving, and short texts for the day.
When is Holi?
Holi follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar. It begins on the evening of the full moon (Purnima) in the month of Phalguna, so its date moves every year, usually landing in March and sometimes in late February. The festival lasts a night and a day.
- Holika Dahan, also called Chhoti Holi, is the first evening. People gather around a bonfire that stands for good winning over evil.
- Rangwali Holi, also called Dhulandi, is the next day, the day of colors. People play with dry powder and colored water, and through the day they visit family and friends and share food.
The dates below follow the Hindu calendar for New Delhi. A calendar set for another city can put both days on different dates, and some years the calendar for Washington, DC puts them a day earlier; when it does, the card for that year shows both sets of dates. If you're planning a call or a visit, check the date with your family or your temple.
Holi 2027
- Holika Dahan, the bonfire, in the evening
- Sunday, March 21, 2027
- Holi, the day of colors
- Monday, March 22, 2027
Holi 2028
- Holika Dahan, the bonfire, in the evening
- Friday, March 10, 2028
- Holi, the day of colors
- Saturday, March 11, 2028
Holi greetings people use
Happy Holi is right for anyone who celebrates, in any setting. If you know the words a family uses, use theirs.
- Happy Holi. The everyday greeting in English, for a card, a text or the office.
- Holi ki shubhkamnayein. The usual way to say Happy Holi in Hindi; shubhkamnayein means good wishes.
- Holi hai. It's Holi. People shout it in the streets on the day of colors, so in a text it reads as pure excitement.
- Bura na mano, Holi hai. Roughly, don't be offended, it's Holi. It's the line people say with a grin as they pull a friend into the colors or play a harmless prank. It's a joke between people who are already playing, never permission to color someone who isn't (more on that below).
- Happy Phagwah. In Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and other Indo-Caribbean communities, Holi is called Phagwah, and Happy Phagwah is the greeting.
The festival has other names too. In West Bengal it is Dol Jatra or Dol Purnima, when images of Radha and Krishna are carried in procession on a decorated swing, and at Santiniketan the day is Basanta Utsav, the spring festival, held there since 1923. In Odisha it is Dola Jatra, in Assam Phakua, and in the hills of Nepal Phagu Purnima. In parts of South India, the bonfire night is Kama Dahanam.
Ask before you add color
The play is the best part of Holi, and it works because everyone in it wants to be there. So ask before you put color on anyone, even a good friend, and take a no the first time you hear it. Leave out babies and anyone who has stayed in clean clothes on purpose or would rather watch, and keep color away from eyes and mouths.
Bura na mano, Holi hai belongs to people who are already in the game. For years, women in India have described men using the festival, and that phrase, as cover to grab, grope and harass women who never agreed to play. A quick "can I?" costs nothing and keeps the day what it's meant to be. If you're hosting, say it out loud at the start: anyone who wants to stay clean can, and nobody gets colored by surprise.
What to write in a Holi card
A Holi card usually travels with something else: a box of sweets for the relatives you visit in the evening, a packet of gulal for a friend's children, a thank-you for your hosts. Keep it to a few lines:
- 1.The greeting they use. Happy Holi for most people, Holi ki shubhkamnayein for a family that speaks Hindi, Happy Phagwah or Happy Dol Jatra where that's the name.
- 2.Something from your own Holi together. The terrace you played on, the cousin with the best aim, the bonfire you stood around. One real memory says more than a sentence about colors.
- 3.A wish for the spring. Good health, a calm home, a good season for their work or studies.
Write the card before the day and hand it over later, when people have washed up and started visiting. On the morning itself, paper gets wet and every hand is green.
For the family who hosts every year
Happy Holi to all of you. Every year your terrace fills up with cousins, neighbors and friends of friends, and somehow another plate of gujiya keeps coming out of the kitchen. Thank you for keeping your door open to us. Wishing the whole house good health this spring.
For the neighbors across the street
Happy Holi from across the street. Thank you for inviting our kids into your yard last spring and sending them home pink, green and very pleased with themselves. We hope this Holi brings your family good health and an easy, unhurried spring.
For grandparents
Dear Nana and Nani, Happy Holi. I still remember standing by the bonfire with Nana's hand on my shoulder while he told me how Prahlad came through the fire unharmed. I tell my own children that story now, and they ask for it every year. Sending you both my love and my pranam.
For a teacher or guru
Holi ki shubhkamnayein. Thank you for your patience with me this year, and for every lesson that ran long because I had one more question. I hope the festival brings you rest, sweets you didn't have to make yourself, and long hours with your family.
Tucked in with a box of gujiya
These gujiya were folded at our kitchen table by three generations arguing about how thick the edges should be. They come with our love and our wishes for a happy Holi. Please share them with everyone at home, and keep one back for yourself.
For your family
Holi is a family day in many homes that keep it: the bonfire, the colors, then the round of visits to relatives. A message matters most for the people you can't reach in person that day. For parents and grandparents, thank them for the Holi you grew up with, whether that was a crowded terrace or a quiet lane. Brothers, sisters and cousins can take some teasing, as long as it ends kindly. In a family that keeps more than one tradition, a message that welcomes everyone into the day is a good one to send.
For your parents
Mummy, Papa, Happy Holi. Thank you for every Holi morning you let us run out in our oldest clothes and never once complained about the state of the bathroom afterwards. I'll be home by lunch. Keep the gulal away from the new curtains this time.
For a brother or sister
Happy Holi to my oldest and fiercest Holi rival. You still owe me for the green that wouldn't come out of my hair for a week. Truce until noon, and after that you're on your own.
For your in-laws
Happy Holi to you both. At my first Holi with your family I hovered at the edge of the courtyard, not sure I was allowed to join in, and you pulled me straight into the colors. I have felt at home with you ever since. Thank you.
For your kids
Happy Holi to my two smallest troublemakers. The pichkari may be used on your father, your uncle and each other, but not on Dadi's good shawl. Wash behind your ears tonight. I love you both.
For the family group
Happy Holi, everyone. Bonfire at our place tomorrow evening, colors on the terrace from ten the next morning, and lunch whenever the last person is clean enough to sit down. Bring old clothes and bring the little ones.
For a family with more than one tradition
Happy Holi to our wonderfully mixed family. I love that our kids know the story of Prahlad as well as the stories from their other grandparents, and that everyone on both sides now turns up in old clothes ready to be colored. Thank you all for making room for each other.
For your partner
With a partner, be personal and a little playful. If they're new to Holi, tell them plainly that watching is as welcome as playing, and that you'll stay close. If you're apart this year, call in the evening, after the colors, rather than in the morning when everyone around you is out in the street.
On the morning of Holi
Happy Holi, love. Whoever gets to you first today, I want it on record that I meant to. Save me the left cheek. And thank you for another year of being on my side, in every sense.
Your first Holi together
Our first Holi together, and I already know I'll be finding pink powder in my shoes for a month. I don't mind at all. Thank you for bringing me into your family's celebration and for staying close when the water balloons started flying.
A partner who is new to Holi
I know Holi can be a lot the first time: the noise, the colors, relatives you've never met calling you by name. You don't have to play if you'd rather watch, and we can step away whenever you need a break. I'll be right beside you either way.
Spending Holi apart
Holi without you feels like half a festival. I'm saving a handful of your favorite green for when you're back, so consider yourself warned. Call me in the evening once the house quiets down. I miss you.
For friends
With friends, a shared Holi story does most of the work: the year you both got soaked, the cousin with the best aim, the walk home in ruined shoes. If a friend's family had you over, thank them the next day and name something specific. Plenty of people who aren't Hindu play Holi with their friends, and Jain families have long observed it too. Many Sikhs mark Hola Mohalla, a three-day festival that usually begins the day after Holi. Bengali friends may call the day Dol Jatra, and friends from Guyana, Trinidad or Suriname call it Phagwah, so use the name their family uses.
For a close friend
Happy Holi to the friend who has been on my side of every color fight since we were nine. Some years we win, and most years your brother ambushes us anyway. I'm grateful for all of them, and for you.
A thank-you after their family Holi
Thank you for yesterday. Your mother fed me three times, your cousins taught me how to throw dry color properly, and I think I finally got the last of the blue out of my ears this morning. Please thank everyone for being so welcoming.
For a Sikh friend
Have a good Hola Mohalla. I hope you make it to Anandpur Sahib for the procession one of these years, like you keep promising your grandfather. Send me pictures if you do.
For a Bengali friend
Happy Dol Jatra to you and everyone at home. I hope the morning is slow, the colors are soft, and someone saves you a plate of the good sweets. One spring I'd love to see Santiniketan with you.
For a friend in Guyana or Trinidad
Happy Phagwah to you and the whole family. I hope the day is loud and long and that someone saves you a plate for after. Thinking of you all and wishing I could be there to join in.
For a friend whose family always joins in
Happy Holi to you and your parents. Your family has played with ours on the same street for as long as I can remember, and it wouldn't feel like Holi without your father's terrible aim. See you at the bonfire.
For someone new to Holi
A friend, neighbor or colleague at their first Holi will enjoy it more if someone tells them what to expect: old clothes, dry powder and water, noise, and a lot of food. Make the invitation real, with a time and a place, and say clearly that they can watch rather than play. If you're the one who was invited, a thank-you to your hosts the next day is the surest way to be asked back.
Inviting a friend to their first Holi
We're playing Holi on Saturday morning and we'd love you to come. Wear clothes you don't mind ruining, bring sunglasses, and rub a little oil into your hair first so the color comes out more easily. Join in or watch from the porch. Either is fine.
For a coworker who asked about Holi
Thanks for asking about Holi. It's a spring festival: a bonfire the night before, then a morning of throwing colored powder with family and friends, then a lot of food. Our temple's celebration on Sunday is open to everyone, if you'd like to come and see it.
Thanking your hosts after your first Holi
Thank you for including me in my first Holi. I arrived nervous and left covered head to toe and grinning, with a box of sweets your aunt insisted I take home. You made it so easy to join in. I'll be back next year with better aim.
For a friend who plays with your family every year
Happy Holi to our favorite honorary member of the family. You've played with us for so many years that Ma asks about you before she asks about me. See you at the bonfire, and wear something old.
For someone you want to make up with
For many Hindus, Holi is a time to repair broken relationships and end old quarrels. That makes it a natural day to reach out to someone you've fallen out with or simply drifted away from. Keep the message short, take your share of the blame, and leave the door open without pushing. If they don't answer, let it rest; you've said what you meant to say.
After a falling out
Holi has always been the day our family lets old arguments go, so I'm taking the chance. I'm sorry for how things ended between us last year. I miss you. If you'd like to talk, I'd really like that too. Happy Holi.
A relative you haven't spoken to
Happy Holi, Chachi. It has been far too long, and most of that is my fault. I would love to come by in the evening after the colors, if you'll have me, and start again.
An old friend you drifted away from
Holi always brings back the year we cycled across town to your cousin's place and arrived bright purple. We've let too much time go by. Happy Holi, and could I call you this week?
For coworkers and clients
At work, keep it short and send it a day early, since many colleagues take Holi off. A name or a family background tells you nothing about whether someone celebrates, so don't guess. A note to the whole team that wishes a happy Holi to those who celebrate includes everyone, and for a client, a wish for a good spring is plenty. At an office celebration, the rule about asking first counts double: never put color on a coworker who hasn't clearly said yes.
For your team
Wishing a happy Holi to everyone on the team who celebrates. If you're taking the day off, enjoy it and leave your email closed; we'll manage. And thank you to everyone covering for colleagues this week.
For a coworker
Happy Holi. I hope the colors are bright and the cleanup is quick. Enjoy the long lunch with your family, and tell me all about it when you're back.
For a team in India
Happy Holi to the Gurugram team. We know most of you will be out for the festival, so we've moved the review to next week. Enjoy the day with your families, and send us a photo or two if you feel like it.
For a client
Wishing you and your family a happy Holi. Thank you for a good year of working together. We hope the festival brings you a proper break and a bright start to the spring.
For your manager
Happy Holi, and thanks for signing off on my days away. I'll be at my parents' for the bonfire and the colors and back on Thursday, with my out-of-office on until then.
For someone far away
Holi is hard to share from a distance, because most of it happens in person. So write about the day itself: call in their evening, when the playing is over and people are visiting, and ask who came and who ended up the most colorful. If you're the one who is away, tell them how you marked it, even if it was a dab of gulal at your desk. Many cities outside India have Holi at temples, universities and community events, so a student or someone who has just moved can still find a place to play.
For more ways to say it, see miss you messages.
For your mother back home
Happy Holi, Ma. Nobody at my office stops for Holi, but a few of us are wearing a dab of gulal on our foreheads to the morning meeting. Save me some gujiya in the freezer. I'll be home for the next one, I promise.
A student away from home
Happy Holi, beta. The student association's Holi is on Saturday, so go, even if you only know two people there. Wear your old jeans, ask before you color anyone, and call us after so we can see how much green is left on you.
For a sibling abroad
Happy Holi from home. The bonfire was smaller without you, and nobody else knows how to start the water fight properly. Video call at noon your time? Bring your own gulal and we'll pretend.
For a grandmother you can't visit
Dear Dadi, Happy Holi. I wish I were there to touch your feet and put a little color on your cheek, the way you always let me. I'll call in the evening when the house has calmed down. I love you.
For a friend spending Holi alone
Holi so far from home can be a quiet day. A few of us are meeting in the park on Sunday with colors and food; come for an hour or stay all morning. If you'd rather not, I'll call you instead.
For someone who is grieving
Many Hindu families spend a full year in mourning after a close relative dies, and some of them don't play Holi or mark other festivals during that year. To a family in mourning, send no colors and no festive wishes. Write that you remember the person, by name if you knew them, and offer one specific kind of help, such as a meal or an evening visit. Someone grieving who still plays may find the noise of the day hard, so a quiet message suits them too.
For more words for a loss, see condolence messages and thinking of you messages.
A family not playing Holi this year
I know your family won't be playing Holi this year, so I'm not sending any colors, only my love. I'm thinking of you and of your father. If you'd like company in the evening, or a meal left at the door, just tell me.
Someone grieving who still celebrates
Thinking of you this Holi. I know your mother loved this day more than anyone, and that the morning will feel different without her. However you spend it, quietly or out with everyone, I'm with you.
No colors this year
No colors from me this year, just a message. I've been thinking of Arjun all week, especially of how he always arrived first and stayed last. You don't have to reply. I'm here whenever you want to talk.
After a hard year
Holi can be loud when your heart is not. If you'd rather skip the gathering this year, that's alright. I'll come by later with sweets and we can sit on the steps and talk about anything else.
Short texts for Holi
For the family chat, the bonfire night, or anyone you'd like to reach on the day without a long message. Each one works as it is.
The simplest one
Happy Holi to you and everyone at home.
In Hindi
Holi ki shubhkamnayein. Wishing your whole family a bright, easy spring.
On the bonfire night
Thinking of you on Holika Dahan tonight. May the fire take the worst of this year with it.
On the morning of colors
Holi hai. Old clothes on, colors ready, see you outside. Happy Holi.
For the family chat
Happy Holi, everyone. Before and after photos in this chat, please. Dada wants to see who got the most color.
Happy Dol Jatra
Happy Dol Jatra. I hope the morning is full of color and the evening full of sweets.
Happy Phagwah
Happy Phagwah to you and the whole family. Save me a plate.
To start over
Happy Holi. It's a good day to start over, if you'd like to. I would.
For a neighbor
Happy Holi, neighbor. Apologies in advance for the noise, and for the pink footprints on the sidewalk.
A day late
Sorry I missed you yesterday. Happy Holi, a day late and with no color attached.
More for the year: Diwali messages for the festival of lights in the autumn, Nowruz messages for the Persian New Year in March, and every other date in the holiday calendar.
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Holika Dahan and the stories behind Holi
Holika Dahan. The bonfire recalls Prahlad, a boy devoted to Vishnu. His father, the demon king Hiranyakashipu, wanted to be worshipped himself and tried to have his son killed. The king's sister Holika, who could not be harmed by fire, sat with Prahlad in a burning pyre. Prahlad came out unharmed and Holika burned. Hindu calendars give a time window for lighting the fire, the muhurta, which differs from city to city.
Radha and Krishna. The play with color is tied to Krishna. In one telling, he worried that his dark skin set him apart from Radha, and his mother told him to color her face any color he liked. In the Braj region, the celebrations go on until Rang Panchami.
Kama. In parts of South India, the bonfire night remembers Kama, the god of love, burned to ashes by Shiva and later restored to life.
Spring and starting over. Holi also marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring, and for many Hindus it's a day to settle quarrels and begin again. That's why a Holi message can carry an apology or an overdue hello.
Hola Mohalla. Guru Gobind Singh began Hola Mohalla at Anandpur, and Sikhs still gather at Anandpur Sahib for three days of martial displays, music and poetry, with langar for everyone who comes.