Lohri
Keywords: – Lohri the Festival of Joy
Lohri, one of the popular and important Hindu festivals is celebrated on 13th of January every year. It is celebrated as an agricultural festival with complete merry making. It is most commonly celebrated in the states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Himachal Pradesh. The festival is also celebrated in many other states of India, under different names. It is celebrated in Bengal as Makar Sankranti and as Magha Bihu in Assam. It is called as Tai Pongal in Kerala. Similar type of celebration takes place in Tamil Nadu and is called as Pongal. Although having different names the festival is celebrated for same purpose everywhere. It focuses on expressing gratitude to the almighty for his blessings in the form of bounteous harvest and comfortable weather conditions. The festival signifies the ending of the biting colds of winter and marks the starting of summer season.
History of the eve
With the upcoming of New Year the complete state of Punjab gets ready to celebrate Lohri. Lohri is one of the most joyful and important festival for Punjabis especially for those families where there has been a recent marriage OR there is birth of a child.
Many stories have been associated with the birth of the festival. But it has been accepted everywhere as a harvest festival. With the end of winter season, it marks the last day of the Paush month, and beginning of the month Magha. During this period, the farm fields gleam with wheat which is the primary North Indian crop.
Also, Lohri is considered as the time when the sun shines from the uttarayan i.e. it passes maker and moves toward North and the earth receives comfort for its inhabitants. So the festival is dedicated to fire and sun God. The fire is the symbol of a energy source and inner strength.
Significance of Lohri
Lohri is an auspicious occasion. It observes fertility and the spark of life. It is considered as the best festival to celebrate and spread the warmth of love and happiness among your near and dear ones. The festival is celebrated with fun and fervour. There is a great significance behind celebration of Lohri.
Firstly, the very important one is the harvest of two important crops that are rabi and wheat. Secondly, story of a boy Prahalad is associated with Lohri. He was a great follower of God of Sikhs named as Wahe Guru. Lohri and Holika were two sisters. Also holika had a evil brother who ordered her to take Prahalad in her lap and sit in fire with Lohri. It is said that Holika sat in the fire with Prahal and Lohri. She vanished into fire but Prahalad and Lohri survived. Since then people started celebrating Lohri and burn woods at night and pray to never harm their boy child and protect them from all evil powers like it did for Prahalad.
Celebration of Lohri
Lohri is not just a festival; it is considered as a symbol of life and thus is celebrated with great pomp and show throughout the country.
• The Bonfire Ritual
On this day children visit every house in their neighbourhood and ask for their contributions for bonfires that is to be lit in the evening and also inviting all people. They sing songs of Lohri in the praise of Dulha Bhatti, creating a festive mood all over the place. Fire woods and wooden twigs are collected one week before the festival actually arrives. These fire woods are arranged in a circular manner to form a huge bonfire.
In the evening, as the sun sets, the bonfire is lit up in the harvested fields and in the front yards of houses. People gather around the rising flames, and make the circle around the bonfire. Then they throw puffed rice, popcorn and other corns into the fire, and enchanting “Aadar aye diladder jaye” which means that may goodness and honour comes and the bad and poverty days get away. Also the people sing popular songs. It is a type of prayer to Agni, the fire god, to bless the land with abundance and prosperity. After completing the ritual of bonfire lighting, people meet friends and relatives, and exchange greetings and gifts, and distribute offerings made to God.
The offerings made to God consist of five main constituents. These are til, gajak, jaggery, peanuts, and popcorn. The popular eatables of the day are millet hand rolled chapattis that is popularly called as “makke-di roti” and cooked mustard seeds known popularly as “sarson-da-saag” in layman terms.
• Song and Dance
After the completion of bonfire, the bhangra dance by men begins and it is continued till late night. The women perform graceful gidda dance in large groups. The people continuously sing the folk sings relevant to festival and there is great fun throughout the night.
• Maghi Day
On the second day of Lohri, the maghi day is celebrated to commemorate the beginning of the Magha month. On this day, holy dips are performed in the river Ganga and charity task is also entertained. The favourite dish of the day is pudding made with sugarcane juice.
Lohri is a festival which celebrates joy of life and let the people get together to share each other’s company.