# Why Is Holika Worshipped on Holi? > Why is Holika, a demoness, worshipped before the Holi fire? The meanings behind the Holika puja, the bonfire and the new grain. Source: https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/info/why-holika-is-worshipped | Who | Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu | | --- | --- | | When | Phalguna Purnima, before the bonfire is lit | | Offered | Water, roli, raw thread, turmeric, new grain, sweets | ## What is worshipped The worship is not of Holika's evil but of the fire that destroyed it, and of Prahlada and Narasimha whom it could not touch. The pyre is honoured as Agni, who purifies, and as the power that turns evil to ash. A pole for Prahlada is often pulled out of the fire before it burns down, as a sign that devotion survives. A folk explanation says that Holika, at the moment of burning, repented, and that Prahlada asked that she be remembered every year; so she is worshipped as one who was redeemed. Another says that she was a protective mother goddess of the village, worshipped to keep away disease, long before the Prahlada story was attached to her. ## The fire and the harvest Holi falls at the time of the winter harvest. New ears of wheat and barley and green gram are roasted in the bonfire and eaten as prasad, as the first offering of the harvest to the fire, which carries offerings to the gods. Holika, in some explanations, is the old year, burned so that the new can begin. Women wind raw cotton thread around the pyre for their husbands and children, as a circle of protection, and take a little of its ash home the next day as a tilak against harm. ## The new grain In the villages of North India the ears of new wheat and barley are tied together and roasted in the Holika fire, then shared among the family. These roasted grains are called holak, and some say the name Holi itself comes from them. ## Dates and related pages - [Holi Puja Vidhi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/holi-puja-vidhi) - [Holi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/info/holi) - [Holi Legends](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/festivals-holi-legends) ## Hindu Festivals - [Diwali](https://www.hinducalendar.today/diwali/info/diwali) - [Naraka Chaturdashi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/diwali/naraka-chaturdashi/info/naraka-chaturdashi) - [Dussehra (Vijayadashami)](https://www.hinducalendar.today/dasara/info/dussehra-vijayadashami) - [Durga Puja](https://www.hinducalendar.today/durga-puja/info/durga-puja) - [Navratri](https://www.hinducalendar.today/navratri/info/navratri) - [Ganesha Chaturthi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/ganesh-chaturthi/info/ganesha-chaturthi) - [Holi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/info/holi) - [Holashtak](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/info/holashtak) - Why Holika Is Worshipped - [Rangwali Holi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/holi/festivals-holi-rangwali) - [Ranga Panchami](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/ranga-panchami/info/ranga-panchami) - [Akshaya Tritiya](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/akshaya-tritiya/info/akshaya-tritiya) - [Bhai Dooj](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/bhai-dooj/info/bhai-dooj) - [Karwa Chauth](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/karwa-chauth/info/karwa-chauth) - [Maha Shivaratri](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/maha-shivaratri/info/maha-shivaratri) - [Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/rakhi/info/rakhi) - [Vasant Panchami](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/vasant-panchami/info/vasant-panchami) - [Radha Ashtami](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/radha-ashtami/info/radha-ashtami) - [Hanuman Jayanti](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/hanuman-jayanti/info/hanuman-jayanti) - [Krishna Janmashtami](https://www.hinducalendar.today/dashavatara/lord-krishna/janmashtami/info/krishna-janmashtami) - [Rama Navami](https://www.hinducalendar.today/dashavatara/rama-navami/info/rama-navami) - [Gudi Padwa](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/gudi-padwa/info/gudi-padwa) - [Ugadi](https://www.hinducalendar.today/telugu/festivals/ugadi/info/ugadi) - [Makar Sankranti](https://www.hinducalendar.today/sankranti/info/makar-sankranti) - [Sankranti](https://www.hinducalendar.today/sankranti/info/sankranti) - [Kumbha Mela](https://www.hinducalendar.today/kumbh-mela/kumbh-mela) - [Why Festival Dates Differ by Place](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/hindu-festival-date-shift-with-timezone) - [The Hindu New Year (Samvat)](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/samvat-newyear/new-hindu-samvata-year-begins) - [The King and Ministers of the Year](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/samvat-newyear/info/about-new-samvata-mantri-mandala) - [Top 25 Hindu Festivals](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/top-twenty-five-hindu-festivals) - [Indian Harvest Festivals](https://www.hinducalendar.today/seasons/info/indian-harvest-festivals) - [Krishna's Date of Birth](https://www.hinducalendar.today/dashavatara/lord-krishna/krishna-date-of-birth) - [Lord Rama's Date of Birth](https://www.hinducalendar.today/dashavatara/rama-navami/lord-rama-date-of-birth) - [When Bhishma Pitamah Died](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/bhishma-ashtami/info/bhishma-pitamah-death-time) - [Raksha Bandhan During a Lunar Eclipse](https://www.hinducalendar.today/festivals/raksha-bandhan/info/raksha-bandhan-during-chandra-grahan) - [Sharad Purnima During a Lunar Eclipse](https://www.hinducalendar.today/purnima/sharad/info/sharad-purnima-during-chandra-grahan) - [Diwali Customs for Prosperity](https://www.hinducalendar.today/diwali/remedies/diwali-wealth-remedies)