Lohri festival 2024: Lohri is celebrated in parts of Northern India a night before Makar Sankranti. It is a popular Indian festival that is celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvest season for winter crops. Every year, during the month of Paush, a day before Makar Sankranti - usually on January 13, with much fanfare especially by the people of Punjab, Lohri is celebrated. The festival is also popular in other parts of the country such as Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Jammu. In 2024, Lohri is celebrated on January 14 (Sunday).
Originally, it was observed on the evening before the Winter Solstice, but in more recent years, it is observed the day before Makar Sankranti. Lohri, also known as Lohadi or Lal Loi, is a festival that is closely related to Makar Sankranti. Lohri festival is traditionally associated with the harvest of rabi crops. It is time to harvest sugarcane crops. Even the Punjabi farmers after Lohri (Maghi) see it as the financial New Year. Three edibles are associated with the Lohri festival that is rewri, peanuts and popcorn.
Lohri festival is a time of untainted extravagance. Singing folk songs, dancing to the tunes of dhol, performing bhangra, gidda and chajja, relishing makki ki roti and sarson ka saag and munching gajak, moongfali, tilkut, puffed rice, revdi, popcorn by the bonfire are some of the popular Lohri rituals.
Indian Origins of Lohri
There are numerous origins of Lohri. The main subject of Lohri is the conviction that Lohri is the enlightening celebration of Winter solstice. The key trait of Lohri is the bonfire. Illuminating the fire has been familiar in winter solstice festivals all through time. It implies the comeback of the longer days.
Lohri is an official holiday in Punjab, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. The festival is celebrated in Delhi and Haryana but is not a gazetted holiday. Lohri is celebrated by Sikhs, Hindus and whoever wants to enjoy it.
READ| Why is Makar Sankranti celebrated?
Legends of Lohri Origin
- Dulla Bhatti
The main theme of Lohri's songs is related to the legend of Dulla Bhatti. Dulla Bhatti lived in Punjab state during the supremacy of Akbar. He was looked upon as a hero of Punjab. He salvaged deprived Punjabi girls, being powerfully taken to be sold in the slave marketplace of the Middle East from the Sandal Bar region.
- Loi
Some people think that Lohri has derived its name from the word “Loi”. Loi was the wife of Saint Kabir.
- Loh
Some people think that Lohri has derived its name from the word “Loh”. Loh means the warmness & light of a fire.
Significance of the Lohri Festival
In the state of Punjab, the breadbasket of India, Wheat is the major winter crop, which is planted in October and reaped in March or April. In January, the fields turn up with the swear of a golden harvest & farmers celebrate the Lohri festival during this period before the cutting & gathering of the crops.
During this period, the earth which is farthest from the sun, initiates its journey towards the sun, consequently ending the coldest months of the year, Paush. It announces the beginning of Magh & the propitious period of Uttarayan. Following the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna gives evidence of himself in his full splendour this time. The Hindus annul their sins by taking a bath in the Ganges River.
The Bonfire Ritual
In the dusk, massive bonfires are lit in harvested fields & front yards of homes. People get together around the flames, circle around the bonfire toss puffed rice, munchies, and popcorn into the fire and hum popular folk songs. They pray to the fire god, to sanctify the land with prosperity and abundance. The prasad consists of 5 major items: gajak, til, jaggery, popcorn, and peanuts.
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