In Krishna's mythical hometown, Holi is not a single day but a week-long run of temple celebrations that culminates in clouds of colored powder thick enough to blot out the sun.
Vrindavan and neighboring Mathura are considered the birthplace of Holi's color-throwing tradition, and temples here mark it accordingly: at Banke Bihari temple, priests fling powder and petals over packed crowds from the inner sanctum, while smaller ashrams hold their own gatherings with drumming and devotional singing that build for hours before the color starts.
Not every celebration is identical — some days center on flower Holi, with baskets of petals thrown instead of powder, and the widows' Holi held at certain ashrams has become a moving, more recent tradition of its own, reclaiming a festival widows were historically excluded from. Expect total strangers to mark your face with color as a greeting; it is customary and good-natured, not an attack.
Wear clothes you are willing to ruin and coat your skin and hair in oil beforehand, since it makes the powder far easier to wash out afterward, and keep a scarf or swim goggles handy — the crowds and the sheer density of powder in the air at the temples can be intense for anyone unused to it.
