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Lohri is a midwinter Folk festival and harvest festival that marks the passing of the winter solstice and the end of winter. It is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the Indian harvest festivals observed on or near Makar Sankranti (in the month of Magha in the Hindu calendar) and falls on the night before Maghi (in the month of Magh in the Punjabi calendar) which commonly falls on 13 January every year. It is celebrated primarily in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan and also other regions of North India such as Duggar and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Cambridge Anthropology, Volume 25, Issue 3(2006)
Lohri is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs in India and is an official holiday in Punjab, India, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. The festival is celebrated in Delhi and Haryana but is not a gazetted holiday. List of Holidays (2023). December 2022. Government of Punjab, India. List of holidays for the calendar year 2023
In Punjab, Pakistan it is not observed at the official level but Sikhs, Hindus and some Muslims observe the festival in rural Punjab and in the cities of Faisalabad and Lahore.Harajindara Siṅgha Dilagīra (1997). 9780969596424, Sikh Educational Trust for Sikh University Centre, Denmark. . ISBN 9780969596424
The accounts of Lohri celebration in royal circles do not discuss the origins of the festival. However, there is much folklore about Lohri. Lohri is the celebration of the arrival of longer days after the winter solstice. The Tribune Festival binge: Amarjot Kaur 10 January 2015Celebrating with the Robin Hood of the Punjab and all his friends! Nottingham Post 13 January 2014 [7] According to folklore, in ancient times Lohri was celebrated at the end of the traditional month when winter solstice occurs. Hindustan Times 12 01 2013 It celebrates the days getting longer as the sun proceeds on its northward journey. The day after Lohri is celebrated as Makar Sankranti.
Lohri is an ancient mid-winter festival originating in regions near the Himalayas where winter is colder than the rest of the Indian subcontinent. Hindus and Sikhs traditionally lit bonfires in their yards after the weeks of the Rabi crop season cropping work, socialised around the fire, sang and danced together as they marked the end of winter and the onset of longer days.
Singing and dancing form an intrinsic part of the celebrations. In Punjab, people wear their brightest clothes and come to dance the bhangra and giddha to the beat of the dhol. Punjabi songs are sung, and everybody rejoices. Sarson da saag with makki di roti is usually served as the main course at a Lohri dinner. Lohri holds great importance for farmers. However, people residing in urban areas also celebrate Lohri, as this festival provides the opportunity to interact with family and friends.
In Punjab, Lohri is marked by eating sheaves of roasted corn from the new harvest. Albala, Ken (2011) Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO The January sugarcane harvest is celebrated in the Lohri festival. Sinclair, Toby (1994) India.Odyssey Sugarcane products such as jaggery and gajak are central to Lohri celebrations, as are nuts which are harvested in January. The other important food item of Lohri is radish which can be harvested between October and January. Mustard green are cultivated mainly in the winter months because the crop is suitable to the agro-climatic conditions. Indian Food Packer, Volume 49 (1995) Accordingly, mustard greens are also winter produce. It is traditional to eat gajak, sarson da saag with makki di roti, radishes, ground nuts and jaggery. It is also traditional to eat til rice, which is made by mixing jaggery, sesame seeds and puffed rice.Sundar Mundarye ho by Assa Singh Bhuman Waris Shah Foundation In some places, this dish, more like a snack, is named tilcholi.
In some parts of Indian Punjab, there is a popular trick–or–treat activity which is engaged in by boys. They select a group member and smear his face with ash and tie a rope around his waist. The idea is for the selected person to act as a deterrent for people who refrain from giving Lohri items. The boys sing Lohri songs asking for Lohri items. If not enough is given, the householder will be given an ultimatum to either give more or the rope will be loosened. If not enough is given, then the boy who has his face smeared will try to enter the house and smash clay pots or the clay stove.
The collections gathered by the children are known as lohri and consist of sesame seeds, gajak, sugar candy, jaggery, peanuts and puffed rice or popcorn. Lohri is then distributed at night during the festival. Sesame seeds, peanuts, popcorn and other food items are also thrown into the fire. For some, throwing food into the fire represents the burning of the old year and start the next year on Makar Sankranti.
The bonfire is lit at sunset in the main village square. People toss sesame seeds, jaggery, sugar-candy and on the bonfire, sit around it, sing and dance till the fire dies out. Some people perform a prayer and go around the fire. This is to show respect to the natural element of fire, a tradition common in winter solstice celebrations. Firoz Bakht Ahmed Deccan Herald 18 January 2010 It is traditional to offer guests til, gajak, jaggery, peanuts and puffed rice or popcorn. Milk and water are also poured around the bonfire by Hindus to thank the Sun God and seek his continued protection.
Among some sections of the Sindhis community, the festival is traditionally celebrated as Lal Loi. On the day of Lal Loi children bring wood sticks from their grandparents and aunties and light a fire burning the sticks in the night with people dancing and playing around the fire. The festival is gaining popularity among other Sindhis where Lohri is not a traditional festival. Nidhin Singhi "Lohri gaiety warms all"Times of India 13 01 2012
Sunder mundriye ho!
Tera kaun vicharaa ho!
Dullah Bhatti walla ho!
Dullhe di dhee vyayae ho!
Ser shakkar payee ho!
Kudi da laal pathaka ho!
Kudi da saalu paata ho!
Salu kaun samete!
Chacha gali dese!
Chache choori kutti! zamidara lutti!
Zamindaar sudhaye!
Bum Bum bhole aaye!
Ek bhola reh gaya!
Sipahee far ke lai gaya!
Sipahee ne mari itt!
Paanvey ro te paanvey pitt!
Sanoo de de Lohri, te teri jeeve jodi!
(Laugh, cry or howl!)
Translation
Beautiful girl
Who will think about you
Dulla Bhatti of the Bhatti clan will
Dulla's daughter got married
He gave one ser of sugar!
The girl is wearing a red suit!
But her shawl is torn!
Who will stitch her shawl?!
The uncle made Bangle!
The landlords looted it!
Landlords are beaten up!
Lots of simple-headed boys came!
One simpleton got left behind!
The soldier arrested him!
The soldier hit him with a brick!
(Cry or howl)!
Give us Lohri, long live your pair (to a married couple)!
Whether you cry, or bang your head later!
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