"Holy Cow" and meaning and Origin of term do you know?

what is holy cow? recently in one of the forum is saw a person using slang "Holy Cow"! for a moment i was like wait a minute! isn't COW a sacred animal for hindus when did westerners started worshiping COW's :), though i heard this phrase many times in movies and while chat with friends this is the first time something triggered to know the origin of the term "Holy Cow".

though quick and deep googling lead me to various pages with hilarious meanings and idioms but the bottom line what i concluded is its just a slang used when person is surprised, astonished, delighted and other situations where is senses are not in normal condition.

but the origin of the phrase dates back to from 1960 in American dictionary to the time of exodus about the story of golden calf though this word is mmon among teenagers and almost all the age groups It was to first popularized by the "Corliss Archer" series of short stories, television programs, and movies, which attempted to show the humorous, homey side of teenage life.

what ever it is though American take it for surprise we Indians really take the phrase "Holy cow" seriously as Indians worship cow and considered sacred and cow is symbol of abundance and it is one of the important animal worshiped in many occasions such as house warming ceremony and some festivals such as pongal and it can also be noted that cow slaughter is banned in India except in two states westbengal and kerala.

so what i came to know is "holy cow is the slang used when people get shocked or surprised if you think or know there is other meaning for it do share with us here.