Lohri is one of most popular and revered Punjabi festivals celebrated in India with great ritualistic fervour and is celebrated on 13 January every year.The festival pays homage to Surya (the sun god), in hopes that the god graces the occasion with his presence during the bumper harvest.
Celebrated with great pomp and enthusiasm, the festival marks the end of sowing season and the beginning of the farming season. Also known as the ‘harvest festival,’ the festivities are a way to solemnise harvesting of the rabi (winter) crops through traditional folk songs, dances and delectables.
The festival is primarily celebrated in northern states of India, including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Initially, it was celebrated on the shortest day and longest night of the year. Later, people started celebrating it at the end of the chilly winters.
The festival day is touted to be the longest night of the year in the lunar calendar. According to the solar part of the lunisolar Bikrami calendar, the festival is typically celebrated on the same date every year. During the leap years, Lohri is celebrated on either 12 or 14 of January.
How is Lohri Celebrated?
The festival of Lohri is celebrated as a community festival with family, friends, and relatives. People gather around bonfires that are lit in front of people’s houses or in harvested fields and toss corn, sesame seeds, rice and jaggery into the bonfires. The occasion is considered to be auspicious for to-be-parents and newly married couples. After the fire is set ablaze, people sing and dance to traditional folk songs in praise of Surya, symbolised by the bonfire.
Lohri Shubh Muharat: Time and Date
- The Lohri Sankranti moment is at 8:29 am on 14 January 2021.
- Makar Sankranti will be observed on 14 January 2021.
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