Outline of essay “Holi and La Tomatina: The festivals of happiness”

TOPIC: Culture
Thesis sentence:
Both festival of Holi and La Tomatina have similarities and differences which is can be compared and contrasted in terms of purpose, content, history, celebration, and post-celebration.
The Body 1. The purpose of festivals A. Holi * It has religious purpose * Celebration of spring B. La Tomatina * Purely for fun * It has no religious purpose 2. The content of festivals A. Holi * Use natural colors B. La Tomatina * Use tomatoes 3. The history of festivals A. Holi * Connected to the mythical tale in Hindu B. La Tomatina * It is not connected to any ancient tradition 4. The celebration of festivals A. Holi * Set holika bonfire symbolizes the victory of good over evil * Throwing colors B. La Tomatina * Throwing tomatoes each other 5. The post-celebration of festivals A. Holi * Visit friends and relatives, defines social harmony B. La Tomatina * Conduct party and clubbing
Conclusion:
In conclusion, both festival of Holi and La Tomatina have their own unique features that represent each country, India and Spain. As a land of many cultures and a large of Hindu population, India had a great variety of traditions as well as festivals which is tied to Hinduism beliefs that appears in Holi festival, as a sacred tradition and a celebration also. La tomatina festival is more like a secular event where it is inclusively open to all comers. Taking part either in the Holi festival or La Tomatina festival provides the participants a sense of cultural identity and defines the culture of each country.
Holi and La Tomatina: The festivals of happiness

Culture is the way of life which is shared among a group of people in a society. Every country has its own culture that differs substantially from other cultures. A large part of culture is festivals. There are many fabulous festivals from all around the world, and some of the most unique and wonderful celebrations are the festival of Holi in India, and the La Tomatina festival in Spain. Both festival of Holi and La Tomatina have similarities and differences which is can be compared and contrasted in terms of purpose, content, history, celebration, and post-celebration.
First, festival of Holi and La Tomatina differ in terms of the purpose of the festivals. There are religious purpose of why people in India celebrate Holi. It is celebrated to honour religious events exist in Hinduism. Many also believe that commemorating this festival will bring satisfying harvest and the fertile soil. The main goal is welcoming the beginning of the joyful new season, spring, leaving the dark and cold winter far behind. At this point, people are in joy to celebrate the happiest festival of the Hindus. In contrast, La Tomatina festival is held genuinely for fun. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain where people from different countries are getting involved in this event. There is no religious influences behind this festival. Second, festival of Holi and La Tomatina differ in that Holi festival use color while La Tomatina use tomatoes. The color using in Holi is made from traditional plants such as neem, turmeric, palash, bilva, and others herbs available in India. These natural sources of color then are mixed with cornstarch and other flour to produce beautiful bright color called gulaal. The color consists of orange, yellow, red, green, blue, purple, magentha, brown, and black. By throwing color made of herbs is believed to have medicinal purposes in healing any skin issues and also eco-friendly. On the other hand, La Tomatina festival use over ripe tomatoes from a region in western Spain, Extremadura, which are grown especially for this event. The tomatoes in this area are cheaper and lack of taste, so they are usually not to be consumed and are sent to Bunol instead. Third, the festival of Holi and La Tomatina differ in terms of the history. The festival of Holi is connected to the mythical tale of Prahlad whose father, the evil King Hiranyakashipu, wanted to be the one and only god of the universe. Instead of obeying his father’s order, Prahlad denied and worshipped Vishnu – one of the God in Hinduism. In order to kill Prahlad, Holika, the wicked sister of King Hiranyakashipu who was believed to be resist to fire, put Prahlad on her lap in a bonfire. It was a miracle that Prahlad was safe and sound while Holika burnt into dust, which is symbolized the win of good over evil. Another history of Holi is based on the story of Khrisna and Radha. It was told that Khrisna who was jealous of Radha’s complexion started smearing colors to Radha’s face to make them look alike. By comparison, the origin of La Tomatina festival is not connected to any ancient tradition and is quiet vague. However, some believe it was just a local fight of young men who started hurling tomatoes at one another while attending a parade in the town square of Bunol back then in 1945. Although it was once ever banned in the Fransisco Franco era as it had no religious reasons, the festival of La Tomatina was getting bigger every year until it was finally decided to be an official festival in Bunol, Spain.
Fourth, both Holi festival and La Tomatina are celebrated in happiness where people gather to play and laugh in the spirit of brotherhood. However, Holi festival is an old Hindu religious event which starts with setting bonfire in public area on the night before Holi is celebrated – it usually falls in March when the moon is full in the sky. This represented the burning of Holika where goodness is always win over evil, so this event is called the Holika bonfire. During Holika bonfire, people gather to sing Holi folk songs and dance all night long in joy. The joy continues in the morning where the main day of the festival of colors begins. People of all ages, genders, and social classes show up on the street to celebrate the festival of Holi by throwing color powder at each other. They smile and laugh as the color touches them which makes them look alike from head to toe. On the other hand, La Tomatina festival which is held on the last Wednesday of August every year is held purely for fun. Thousand people from various countries gather in the town of Bunol to take part in this massive event. At 11 a.m. the biggest tomatoes battle start and everyone throwing tomatoes at each other in almost one hour. Finally, festival of Holi and La Tomatina differ in terms of the after party activities. It has been a tradition for Hindus to visit friends and families after a day of playing with colors. In the evening, people start preparing for the next event. They clean up theirselves, wear their best dresses, get ready to meet and greet each other around the neighborhood. They also share sweets, desserts, food, and a traditional drink called Bhang. It is the perfect time to forgive and forget as well as starting a brand new day, which ritually pusposes to establish the social harmony among people in India. In contrast, after the tomato-fighting is over, the best way to end up the messiest day of La Tomatina is by attending a party. Begin in 2011 with the average of 2000 participants each year, that getting bigger and better in time, the La Tomatina After Party is officially held featuring music, pool party, and lots of beer to mark it as the most epic party ever. The La Tomatina After Party starts at 6 p.m. until late where people should pay for tickets starting from 20 Euros, for entrance only, and 40 Euros to 60 Euros for entrance plus some free liquor. People from various country gather and party till the sun comes up. In conclusion, both festival of Holi and La Tomatina have their own unique features that represent each country, India and Spain. As a land of many cultures and a large of Hindu population, India had a great variety of traditions as well as festivals which is tied to Hinduism beliefs that appears in Holi festival, as a sacred tradition and a celebration also. La tomatina festival is more like a secular event where it is inclusively open to all comers. Taking part either in the Holi festival or La Tomatina festival provides the participants a sense of cultural identity and defines the culture of each country.

By Ismi Intan Pertiwi (130511100062)