Lohri

Lohri is celebrated by lighting bonfires, relishing festive foods like Til Laddoo, Gud Gajak, or the traditional foods of Punjab like Makki Ki Roti and Sarson Ka Saag; dancing to folklores and exchanging gifts among family and friends. The significance of Lohri celebrations lie in celebrating the harvest festival every year, which marks the end of winter season and beginning of harvesting rabi crops.

Happy Lohri 2021 Images: Bonfires are central to Lohri celebrations Lohri and its significance Lohri is the harvest festival of Punjab. It revolves around offering prayers and expressing gratitude to Agni (fire) and the Sun god for abundant crops. In Punjab, the main crop is wheat, which is sown after the rainy season in October and harvested in March or April. Around Lohri and Makar Sankranti, the wheat starts ripening giving hope to farmers who look forward to a bumper harvest. The festival has great social significance also as it brings people - both rich and the poor - together. The festive dinner comprising makki ki roti and sarson ka saag is cooked in all households and shared. There are special community chulhas (ovens) where women gather to make the roti. Lohri is thus more than just a festival for the people of Punjab. Lohri prasad offered during puja The five main items, which are a must during Lohri as prasad to be offered to the gods are til or sesame and items made with it, gajak or sweets made of peanuts and jaggery, moongphalior peanuts, and phuliya or popcorn. People go around the bonfire throwing popcorn and peanuts in it. Happy Lohri 2021 Images: Here's a look at Lohri festive foods - rewari, gajak and peanuts Happy Lohri: Here's how to celebrate • Bonfires are central to Lohri and the celebrations revolve around it, adding warmth and cheer in the cold winter night • In the harvested fields, farmers light huge bonfires and villagers gather around it in th...

Lohri is a popular North Indian winter folk festival celebrated primarily in the Punjab Region. This much-awaited festival marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of the happy sunny days. This festival is observed the night before Makar Sankranti which occurs on the same date every year. Lohri marks the arrival of longer days after the winter solstice and harvesting of the Rabi crops. Primarily Sikhs and Hindus of this region like to deck up in colorful traditional attires, sing and dance around the bonfire. They welcome the longer days of warmer temperatures by offering different food items to the Fire God and offer prayers to destroy all negativity from their life and to bless them with new energy at the beginning of the year. Traditionally, the word Lohri comes from ‘ Tilohri’ i.e. ‘til’ meaning sesame and ‘rorhi’ meaning Jaggery (gur). Later on, people started calling it Lohri. Scientifically, all these food ingredients help to cleanse the digestive system and help to bring new energy for the New Year as well as to harvest new crops. That is the reason behind foods like jaggery, gajak, til ki chikki are offered to the fire as an ancient way of paying gratitude to nature. How Lohri is celebrated?: In the present time, the concept of Lohri has changed a lot. People simply love to dance around the bonfire to the tunes of hit chartbuster, fancy foods, etc. But traditionally Lohri was celebrated by lighting a huge bonfire in a common place after cutting down ...

The New Year brings with it lots of fluffy traditions that don’t always seem rooted in history or culture, but Indian Lohri celebrations date back thousands of years and have a certain joyful magic about them. Like going to an Indian wedding, attending an Indian Lohri party is a bucket list item for many curious and well-traveled Western people, who are enamored by the colors, food, culture, and traditions that hail from this unique region of the world. Ultimately, Lohri parties are beautiful, unique, and always cheerful celebrations. (Which is great because they take place during the In India, Lohri traditions vary from village to village and can be very nuanced. The below details merely reflect how Lohri parties are typically celebrated in the West. Here’s what to expect. *** Image: Jeffrey Mason Photography A Lohri Party— aka “Harvest Festival”— Celebrates Blessings From the Past Year Lohri celebrations always take place January 13th, aka in mid-winter, to honor the winter solstice. Known traditionally as “The Harvest Festival” (because it takes place at the beginning of the harvest season in Northern India), Lohri is celebrated primarily in Punjab, and in regions like Jammu and the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Ultimately, Lohri Parties are sort of like an equivalent of a New Year’s celebration– a time to honor and reflect on life milestones that happened in the past year, specifically weddings and births. Lohri parties are traditionally thrown in someone’s honor— ...

Lohri is always associated with Sikhs as it’s their festival and We Sikhs are just following the crowd and celebrating a day. But have you ever asked yourself, What is the significance of Lohri for Sikhs? Why is Lohri an Important festival for Sikhs? Does it have any specific history? Who is Dulha Bhatti wala and how he is linked with Sikhism? I have tried to explain every question here. So, just another 5 minute of your time and you will understand whether or not Lohri is an Important Festival for Sikhs. Also, it is highly appreciated if you share your views and opinions on Lohri and how Sikhs should go ahead with it. Why Lohri is celebrated? Well, there are many reasons of celebrating Lohri. Let’s take it one by one. Firstly, it is associated with the harvest of Rabi Crop since as per Punjabi farmers, January is a time to harvest sugarcane crops, and therefore it is seen to be a harvest festival. The festival is celebrated all over the Punjab, Delhi, Kashmir and other parts of northern India. Secondly, the story of Prahalad is associated with Lohri. Prahalad was a great devotee of Parmatma, Waheguru. Lohri and Holika were two sisters. Harnakash ordered Holika to take Prahalad in her lap and sit in the fire with Lohri. Holika vanishes into fire, but Prahalad and Lohri survived. From there, people started celebrating Lohri and burn woods at night and “ P ray to Fire” that don’t harm our sons like you didn’t harm Prahalad. Unfortunately, this festival only has importance fo...

Lohri 2022: Lohri is a festival of togetherness and as celebrations abound in Northern India, one can't ignore the waft of great food that's cooking in Indian kitchens. There's something about the nippy air of January that is too festive to ignore. Often called as the 'land of festivals', India boasts of a maximum number of festivals in a calendar year. Festivals spanning across regions, territories and communities, have been spreading cheer since time immemorial. One such festival which makes January special for North Indians is Lohri. (Also read: There are various harvest festivals celebrated across the country during the same time such as Makar Sankranti, Pongal in South India, Bhogali Bihu in Assam and Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh. Lohri is one of the most widely celebrated festivals of Punjab. On the evening of Lohri, people build a huge bonfire. Lohri2022: These foods are typically relished during winters for their ability to keep the body warm: 1. Chikki Yummy peanut and brittle jaggery chikki makes for one of the most favourite Lohri treats. There are several different varieties of chikkis in addition to the most common groundnut chikki. Like til ki chikki or dry fruits chikki which includes chunky nuts like cashews, almonds and pistachios embossed in the sugary base of brittle jaggery. (Also Read: Lohri 2022Special: Peanut and melted jaggery, chikki is for one of the most favourite Lohri treats. 2. Popcorn It isn't all about til and gur that rule the winters in Punjab....

Widely observed in parts of Northern India a night before Makar Sankranti, Lohri is a popular Indian festival that is celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvest season for winter crops. People living in northern states, especially farmers in Punjab celebrate the day with great enthusiasm by gathering around in the evening and lighting a bonfire. Notably, while the festival marks the harvest season, it also hints towards the receding of the winter season or the end of the Winter Solstice, with the sun proceeding on its northward journey. This year as well, people in northern parts are gearing up for Lohri celebrations. Lohri 2023: Date There is quite a confusion this year about the exact date of Lohri. While some believe it falls on 13 January, others believe it to be on 14 January. As per the Hindu calendar, Lohri which usually falls on the night before Makar Sankranti, this year, falls on 14 January 2023 and thus Makar Sankranti will fall on 15 January. The auspicious time for Lohri is 8:57 PM. Lohri 2023: History Not much of our history discusses the origin of Lohri and it is mostly folklore. One such popular folklore links the festival to the tale of Dulla Bhatti, who lived in Punjab’s Mughal area. Also known as the Robinhood of that time, Dulla is said to be very courageous and played a great role in rescuing girls kept as slaves. He also used to loot money from rich people and spend them on poor people, especially the rescued girls. In remembrance of his good dee...