The festival of Lohri symbolises the ripening of winter crops as well as the start of a new harvesting season. Like most festivals, Lohri is all about delicious food, spending time family and friends, along with traditional folk songs and dance. The auspicious festival of Lohri is widely celebrated by the people of Haryana and Punjab, particularly by the Hindu and Sikh communities. For newly married couples, the festival holds special significance. While family and friends bless the couple who have just tied the knot, in-laws gift new brides with things like clothes, makeup, jewellery.
Usually celebrated a day ahead of Makar Sankranti, Lohri - also known as Lohadi and Lal Loi - see people lighting fires outside their homes or in public areas using wood and cow dung cakes; they then perform Parikrama around the fire while offering sesame seeds, and jaggery, gajak, rewdi, and peanuts. Along with harvesting the crops, they also offer the bhog they made from the crops offered to the fire. The celebration of Lohri will take place on Saturday, January 14, 2023, according to Drik Panchang.
Celebrating first Lohri after marriage
Most families celebrate the first Lohri of a newly-wed couple with great pomp and show and it's accompanied by a big feast. A big bonfire is lit and celebrations include singing and dancing around the bonfire. The newlyweds offer items like dry fruits, revri, roasted peanuts, and sesame laddoo to the fire. Friends and family gather to celebrate the festival together and bless the couple.
Also read: Lohri 2023: Is Lohri on January 13 or 14? Check date and time
Lohri 2023: Significance and rituals
Lohri and sugarcane products go hand in hand. Gur (jaggery) along with gajjak are some must-have Lohri foods. Along with that, radish, spinach and mustard leaves (sarson da saag) are essential items to be added to the menu and have been a delicacy since ancient times. Add makki di roti and there you have a feast to cherish. Apart from these dishes, you can munch on peanuts and til rice which is made up of sesame seeds, rice, and jaggery.
Lohri is a festival to celebrate fertility and the joy of life. In the villages, while harvested fields and farms are dotted with bonfires, there is much more to the ritual. On cold winter mornings, people start roaming around to collect branches to make the bonfire. Children, too, get involved in the festival. They go from door to door asking for 'Lohri Loot' and receive money along with til (sesame seeds), jaggery, peanuts, gajjak, or rewari. The rooms of the houses are sprinkled with water as a ritual. In the evening, people gather for 'Parikrama' and throw munchies like popcorn, puffed rice as well as rewari on the bonfire. Sugarcanes are also thrown into the bonfire as an offering. This spreads a fragrance of burning sugar all over.
Apart from that, they pray 'Aadar aye dilather jaye' (may honour come and poverty vanish), seeking the fertility of their land and abundant crops. They then celebrate by singing and dancing to folk songs. Revellers wear new clothes and exchange sweets. Lohri is also an auspicious festival for newlyweds and newborns. While newlyweds wear jewellery, newborns hold a comb as part of a ritual.
(With ANI inputs)
