Home
Shawnigan Celebrates Holi
Shawnigan students enjoyed a joyous and colourful sendoff before Spring Break with a celebration of the Holi festival on Wednesday evening.
Celebrated throughout India and around the world by members of the Indian diaspora, Holi has multiple meanings within the Hindu culture, including rejuvenation and the arrival of spring. Part of the celebration includes the tossing of coloured powder, and this was central to the event at Shawnigan on Wednesday, as hundreds of students gathered in the Quad to throw coloured powder at each other, creating a chaotic and exuberant rainbow.
That was followed by a delectable Spirit Meal in Marion Hall, as the kitchen team treated students to an Indian feast including butter chicken, palak paneer curry, naan, papadum, rice, onion pakora, lentil daal, roasted cauliflower and green beans, and gujiya for dessert.
Grade 12 student Sorath R., a member of the JEDI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Committee, spoke to her peers about Holi and what it means. Sorath’s father grew up in India and moved to Canada as an adult, and although he is Sikh and Holi is a Hindu holiday, he has fond memories of attending Holi celebrations in his youth.
“It brings everyone together,” Sorath noted, “no matter who you are.”
Shawnigan last held a Holi celebration four years ago, when Sorath was in Grade 8. Earlier this year, she and JEDI Prefect Ivana W. approached staff hoping to bring it back. It turned out the School was already planning to surprise the students with a festival, so Sorath helped organize it.
Between the fun in the Quad and food in Marion Hall, the return of Holi to Shawnigan was a spectacular success and a perfect lead-up to Spring Break.
“It’s nice to have a fun way to end the term before sending us all home,” Sorath commented.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
