Lohri celebrates the onset of the harvest season.
Marking the beginning of the festival season, Lohri celebrates the onset of the harvest season. It falls on January 13 every year.
The Punjabi harvest festival is observed just a night before Makar Sankranti, a festival that marks the end of winter. Lohri is mainly celebrated by the Hindu and Sikh communities to honour the winter harvest and the sun god. Essentially termed as the festival of farmers in north India, during Lohri, agriculturists thank the almighty for a good harvest and seek his blessings for the future.
In other parts of the country, it is observed by different names, like Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Makar Sankranti in Gujarat and Bengal, Bihu in Assam and Tai Pongal in Kerala.
Originally, Lohri was celebrated the night just before Winter solstice. Since the nights used to be unbearably chilly, people protected themselves by burning bonfires and spending the entire night around the fire. They used to make merry by eating the remnants of the offering, dancing, and singing.
On the night of Lohri - a bonfire is lit; winter yields like popcorns, peanuts, jaggery, rewari and gajak are distributed to all neighbours, friends, and relatives. Girls in traditional attire perform Gidha.
Punjabi farmers also observe the day after Lohri (Maghi) as the financial New Year.
1. What is Lohri?
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Lohri celebrates the harvest of rabi crops, which are sown in the winter. It thus follows that winter foods like sarson (mustard leaves), sesame, whole wheat and spinach are an integral part of the festival. As part of the festivities, dinner is served after the bonfire ritual.
2. How Lohri got its name?
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Til (sesame) and rorhi (jaggery) are eaten as traditional festive foods. The words til and rorhi together make ' tilohri ', which eventually got rechristened to Lohri, it is believed.
3. Celebrations
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Bonfires, an important part of Lohri festivities, was lit as several families danced to the tunes of famous festival songs like 'Sundariye Mundariye Ho', among others. Good portions of Rewri, Gajak, and Peanuts were available and people were seen enjoying these popular 'Lohri' items, as they broke into interesting jigs to celebrate the festival.
'Dholis' present at several gatherings were another sight rendering traditional Punjabi touch to the celebrations as people enjoyed 'Bhangra' dancing.
Traditionally, the Lohri festival celebrates the onset of the harvest season in Punjab and is celebrated to offer thanks to God for the crops before they begin harvesting them. It is also believed that Lohri night is the longest night of the year and according to the Lunar calendar, marks the winter solstice. The festival also marks the end of the coldest month of the year as the earth now starts to turn towards the sun.
4. Why the bonfire is lit on Lohri
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According to folklore, the flames of the fire are known to carry messages to the sun which is why the day after Lohri is warm and sunny bringing an end to "gloomy" winter days. The following day is celebrated as 'Makar Sankranti' to mark the beginning of bright days ahead.
5. Why is food fed to the fire on Lohri?
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Foods like gajak, even puffed rice and items like popcorn are thrown into the bonfire that symbolises Agni, the God of Fire. It is believed that these offerings are thrown in the sparkling flames to effectively impress the gods and thus seek blessings for yourself and your family.
Moreover, people also justify saying that such an act is considered even more auspicious for families, especially the newly married couples and even for parents who are blessed with newborns. Many have tried to justify this act by explaining that it marks the end of all evil. Families also tend to offer prayers thinking it would infuse purity in their household.
