Lohri Harvest Festival

January 13, 2023

Lohri is a popular Indian festival that is celebrated to mark the beginning of the harvest season for winter crops. Every year, during the month of Paush, a day before Makar Sankranti – usually on January 13, with much fanfare especially by the people of Punjab, Lohri is celebrated. The festival is also popular in other parts of the country such as Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu. In 2023, Lohri is celebrated on January 13 (Friday).

Background of Lohri

Originally, Lohri was observed on the evening before the Winter Solstice, but in more recent years, it is observed the day before Makar Sankranti. Lohri, also known as Lohadi or Lal Loi, is a festival that is closely related to Makar Sankranti. Lohri festival is traditionally associated with the harvest of rabi crops. It is time to harvest sugarcane crops. Even the Punjabi farmers after Lohri (Maghi) see it as the financial New Year. Three edibles are associated with the Lohri festival that is rewri, peanuts and popcorn.

Indian Origins of Lohri

There are numerous origins of Lohri. The main subject of Lohri is the conviction that Lohri is the enlightening celebration of Winter solstice. The key trait of Lohri is the bonfire. Illuminating the fire has been familiar in winter solstice festivals all through time. It implies the comeback of the longer days.

Significance of the Lohri Festival

In the state of Punjab, the breadbasket of India, Wheat is the major winter crop, which is planted in the month of October and reaped in the month of March or in April. In the month of January, the fields turn up with the swear of a golden harvest & farmers celebrate the Lohri festival during this period before the cutting & gathering of the crops. During this period of time, the earth which is farthest from the sun, initiates its journey towards the sun, consequently ending the coldest months of the year, Paush. It announces the beginning of Magh & the propitious period of Uttarayan. In accordance with the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna gives evidence of himself in his full splendor this time. The Hindus annul their sins by taking bath in the Ganges River.

The Bonfire Ritual

In the dusk, massive bonfires are lit in harvested fields & in front yards of homes. People get together around the flames, circle around the bonfire and toss puffed rice, munchies, and popcorn into the fire and hum popular folk songs. They pray to the fire god, to sanctify the land with prosperity and abundance. The prasad consists of 5 major items: gajak, til, jaggery, popcorn, and peanuts.

Lohri Celebrations

From clandestinely licking – off that final grain of sugared, cinnamon-infused rice to relaxing in the tenderness of the splendid bonfire – the Lohri festival is a time of untainted extravagance. Singing folk songs, dancing to the tunes of dhol, performing bhangra, gidda and chajja, relishing makki ki roti and sarson ka saag and munching gajak, moongfali, tilkut, puffed rice, revdi, popcorn by the bonfire are some of the popular Lohri

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