Lohri Festival 2023: How Do People Celebrate Lohri? Explore!

Parts of northern India, especially Punjab and the nearby states, celebrate Lohri to mark the start of the harvest season. This year, Lohri is on Saturday, January 14th. Hindu and Sikh people celebrate Lohri by lighting a holy bonfire, gathering around it, and praying and giving food to the fire God.

When did Lohri Celebrate?

This year, the holiday of Lohri will be celebrated on January 14 in Punjab and other northern Indian states. The moment of Lohri Sankranti is at 8:57 pm. Makar Sankranti, the festival of kite flying that marks the start of summer, is on Sunday, January 15.

History Of Lohri

Europeans who went to the Lahore darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, like Wade, who was there in 1832, talked about Lohri’s history. Captain Mackeson says that on Lohri Day in 1836, Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave out clothes and large amounts of money as rewards. In 1844, the royal court also wrote about how Lohri was celebrated by making a big bonfire at night.

The stories about how the royal family celebrated Lohri don’t talk about where the holiday came from. But there are a lot of stories about Lohri. Lohri is a holiday that celebrates the longer days that come after the winter solstice. Folklore says that in the past, Lohri was celebrated at the end of the month when the winter solstice happened. It marks the fact that the days are getting longer as the sun moves northward. Maghi Sangrand is a holiday that is held the day after Lohri.

Lohri is an old festival that takes place in the middle of winter. It started in areas near the Himalayas, where winters are colder than in the rest of the subcontinent. Hindus and Sikhs used to light bonfires in their yards after the Rabi season cropping work was done. They would gather around the fire and talk, sing, and dance to celebrate the end of winter and the start of longer days.

A woman from Punjab is waiting to take part in Gidda. But Punjabis don’t celebrate Lohri on the night before the winter solstice. Instead, they do it on the last day of the month when the winter solstice takes place. Lohri is a holiday that celebrates the end of the winter solstice.

Significance

Lohri is a time for people to get together, spread happiness, and celebrate the harvest. On this day, people also remember the goddess of Lohri or the Sun god.

How Do People Celebrate Lohri?

Farmers and other people circle around a bonfire that is lit in a field after it has been harvested. Fire is a big part of the festival, and it also keeps people warm when it’s cold outside. People give out snacks like peanuts, gajak, popcorn, and rewari, which are then given to the fire god.

People get together for special programmes where they sing traditional Lohri songs, dance, and talk with each other. For the festival, both men and women do jhoomer, bhangra, kikli, and giddha. Lohri is also a time when people eat “til rice.” Jaggery, rice, and sesame seeds are used to make it.

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