Lohri

Month : January
Place : North India
Famous For : Cultural Festival
Attractions : :Bonfires, Punjabi Cuisine, Dance, Celebration of Farmer's Harvest, Sweets, Various Indian Customs.

Lohri is a harvest festival and is celebrated in the land of Punjab. Lohri is mainly a festival of Punjabis, but it is also celebrated by people of other Northern Indian States like Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Lohri is the most popular harvest festival of Punjab and is celebrated amidst great gaiety and splendour.

Time of Lohri

According to the Hindu calendar, Lohri falls in mid-January (13th January). The earth, farthest from the sun at this point of time, starts its journey towards the sun, thus ending the coldest month of the year and announcing the start of the summer season.

Lohri Celebrations

The festival Lohri has a very old history. The festival marks the end of the cold chilly winter and welcomes the arrival of spring and New Year. It is believed that Lohri is the longest night of the year. After Lohri, the days become longer and the nights shorter.

Lohri is celebrated in remembrance and praise of Dulha Batti. Dulha Batti was a Muslim robber who lived during the era of King Akbar. He was a robber but a good person. He would steal from the rich and distribute the wealth among the poor. He rescued girls who were being forcibly taken away. He arranged marriages of young girls with Hindu Boys and paid the dowries. He was a hero among the local Punjabis there who loved and respected him. Most Lohri songs are sung in praise of Dulha Batti which expresses their gratitude to him.

Lohri marks the movement of the son towards the north (Uttaryan) as opposed to the south. (Dakshinayan). It is considered to be an extremely auspicious time as the sun enters the Tropic of Capricorn from the Tropic of Cancer. It is a festival dedicated to the Sun God and fire.

Lohri Celebrations in other Parts of India

Like any other festival, Lohri brings together family, relatives and friends. People meet each other and exchange sweets. It is aharvest festival and especially important for farmers, but it is celebrated with great fervour by all Punjabis. On this day, they light a bon fire and dance around it. People throw rewaries, sugar-candy, popcorn, sesame seeds, gur, etc into the fire and sing and dance around it. People wear their colourful and brightest clothes and dance the Bhangra or Gidda to the beat of the Dhol. Lohri to farmers signifies the commencement of a new financial year.

Every year Punjabis who are far away from Punjab and live in other cities of India also celebrate Lohri. In places like Mumbai, Punjabis get together to light a bon fire and celebrate Lohri. More on Lohri SMS