The Lohri festival is celebration of Punjabis’ cultural that shows the finale of winter by holy fire. The celebration is renowned on Winter Solstice day. Because it falls on the year’s shortest day, Lohri festival is enjoyed by lighting holy fire and making a bonfire to spot the beginning of longer days. After the celebration of Lohri festival ‘Maghi Sangrand’ is celebrated as the upcoming days that are planned to start getting long than winter season. As the Folk Religion of Punjabi worships expected elements, the major part of Lohri festival is the bonfire that is committed as the winter season end.
Lohri History & Culture
Lohri festival is even famous as the crop festivals. The common conventional time period to produce sugarcane crops is month of January; products of sugarcane like gachak and jaggery are essential to Lohri enjoyment. One more reason that the lohri festival is essential for Sikh folks is as Punjabi people think about the day after Lohri (Maghi) as the economic New Year that holds massive importance to the Sikh group of people.
According to the rituals, teenaged kids go from one door to another door singing and seeking the Lohri in the type of eatables and money such as sesame seeds, jaggery, sweets or peanuts, rewri and gazzak, etc. The kids even sing a traditional song in eulogize of Dulha Bhatti.
In the time of evening the bonfire ceremony comprises lighting the bonfire later than the sunset opposite house’s yards. Many people gather all around the bonfire as well as circle around the bonfire chucking popcorn and puffed rice into the fire, singing the traditional song “Ishwar aye dilather jaye, dalidar di jad chule ch paaye” that means ‘God come and shortage, illness vanish from our home’. Sikh people even sing famous folk songs. This special ritual is a mode of giving thank to God Sun and looking his continued fortification. On this special occasion boys and girls dance a lot surrounded by the fire.
Lohri Celebration
Lohri festival is enjoyed on the 13th January in the Paush or Magh month, a day earlier than Makar Sankranti. This festival is a time to engage in festivities and have fun. The celebration is all about being with dear ones and giving thanks to god for all the affluence bestowed. Litted bonfires on this occasion and the whole members of family and guests take their turns to roll around the bonfire and throw eatable into the fire with some other sweets. It is chased by Punjabi Bhangra and Gidda (Famous dance types) to the Dhol beats.
One more ritual related with the festival observes young boys and girls moving from one place to another place and demanding for Lohri that is some type of donation either in sweets or cash. There is a long-established dinner with Makki ki Roti with amazing and tasty Sarson ka Saag. After that Prasad is provided that contains six different things like: Gazak (dry sweet dish), Til (Sesame), Moongphali (peanut), Gur (jaggery), popcorn and Phuliya.