It's time to start afresh with 2021 and the first festival of the year ie Lohri is almost here. Celebrated on January 13 every year, the festival holds a special significance for the Hindus. It falls just a day before Makar Sankranti is celebrated in India ie on January 14 and is celebrated with great pomp and show. Popular beliefs claim that the festival is celebrated to mark the end of winters and is linked to the Rabi crop harvestation. Lohri is mainly observed in Punjab and Haryana but is celebrated with great zeal and fervour throughout the country. Lohri (Maghi) is also celebrated as the financial New Year. The special thing is that the festival of Lohri has resonance not only in India but also abroad because many Punjabi people are settled there too. If you are also eagerly waiting for Lohri, here's everything you need to know about the significance and specialty of this festival.
Significance of Lohri festival
Happy Lohri 2021
The festival of Lohri is celebrated at the end of autumn and brings great joy and happiness to people. The farmers of Punjab and Haryana thank God on this day so that their upcoming harvest is good. It marks the end of winter and the beginning of longer days. The sun travels towards the Northern Hemisphere during this time.
How is Lohri festival celebrated?
The festival of Lohri is celebrated in the evening. Peanuts, jaggery, sesame and gajak are eaten on this festival. In the evening, all the people of the house burn Lohri outside the house. They put peanuts, gajak, sesame and maize in the bonfire and revolve around it and pray for a happy future. Along with this, family members sing folk songs revolving around Lohri. This festival is also very special for newly married couples. Newly married couples pray for their happy life by offering a sacrifice in the fire of Lohri.
Legend of Dulla Bhatti
There is legend of Dulla Bhatti that is sung as a central theme among many Lohri songs. He was hailed as a hero of Punjab. He saved the Hindu girls from being abducted and taken forcibly into slave trading to the Middle East. Among the girls he saved, there were Sundri and Mundri who gradually became the theme of Lohri song.
In many places of Punjab, 10 to 15 days before the festival of Lohri, teenagers and children go around the neighbourhood in search of logs for the bonfire. They also ask for treats from the elders in the neighbourhood.
