N EW DELHI — Millions of people in South Asia celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, on Friday by smearing each other with brightly colored powder, dancing to festive music and feasting on traditional sweets prepared for the occasion.

Thousands of widows in India's holy town of Vrindavan marked the Hindu festival of colors "Holi", with bright colored dyes and flower petals on Wednesday (March 12). The festival heralds the beginning of spring and will be officially celebrated on March 14 this year.

Holi, the Hindu festival of colour, is celebrated around the world, marked by raucous parties where people throw and smear coloured powder on each other. The festival, the celebrations for which begin on March 14 in many parts of India,