Lohri Festival
The festival of Lohri is celebrated with all the vigor and enthusiasm in North India on the 13th of January every year. It signifies the end of the winter season in the month of Poh or Magh, a day before the festival of Makar Sankranti. This festival period marks the harvesting time and is celebrated by different names - Pongal in the South, Bihu in Assam, Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh, Sankranti in Karnataka - throughout India.
Legend has it that on the auspicious day of Lohri festival, 'Sun' enters 'Makar Rashi'. The 6 month period beginning from the following day to July 14th or Karka Sankranti is called Uttarayan. Uttarayan, as the word suggests is a combination of 'Uttar', meaning North and 'Ayan', meaning movement, signifying Earth's movement towards the Sun. And hence, also signifies the end of the bitter cold experienced in North India during this period. While Lohri is a big festival with the Punjabis, the festival of Makar Sankranti is big in Gujarat. Gujaratis celebrate by feasting on Chikkis and flying kites in groups.
To celebrate Lohri festival, people get together with friends and families to put up bonfires late in the evening. They circle the bonfires(also called Parikrama) singing, dancing and throwing popcorn, puffed rice and rewris (brittles/sweets made of jaggery and sesame). The legend behind it is that it is an offering to Agnidev, the God of Fire. Every neighborhood in Punjab and Delhi and infact every Punjabi family lights up a bonfire on this day and does Parikrama. Professional drummers move from one bonfire to another making people dance to folk songs, the exhilirating beats of their drums and collecting money in return.
The day assumes special significance if there has been a recent wedding in the family or maybe the birth of a newborn. The bonfires and family get-together parties then are more elaborate and high on festive spirit. The songs, dance and celebrations that mark the festival of Lohri exemplify the Punjabiyat, the live life kingsize philosophy of the Punjabis. Traditional dinner on this day necessarily includes Makai ki Roti and Sarson Ka Saag with dollops of home-made butter. Often, people distribute prasad or other goodies. Prasad, traditionally, comprises Gajjak(jaggery brittles with peanuts, sesame and others), Rewri, Popcorn, rice puffs.
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