In Punjab, the festival of Lohri will be observed on January 13, 2014. Lohri is considered to be the most important and most awaited day. People who belong to Punjabi community are mostly robust, fun-loving and enthusiastic by nature. The festival of Lohri symbolizes their enthusiasm for festive celebrations.
The festival of Lohri will be observed on January 13, 2014. With the first light of the New Year, people in India are all set to get started with the journey full of celebrations and festivals. The distinctive and perfectly assorted Indian culture is attracting the inhabitants to get closer to some of the very thrilling and enjoyable festivities. The commencement of these celebrations is to be initiated by the festival of Lohri. It is a festival related to harvesting and is celebrated annually in January.
Legends And Traditions
On the day of Lohri, little children demand for Lohri from their elders in the form of money and eatables such as Sesame seeds (Til), Gajak, Jaggery, Rewari and Peanuts, to name a few. The children also sing a festive song in praise of Dulla Bhatti. He is considered as the Punjabi Avatar of Robin Hood. He robbed the riches to assist the poor people.
Performing Bonfire On Lohri
On the day of Lohri, as the sun sets in the evening, huge bonfires are lit in the harvested fields. A few people also perform this in the front yard of the house. At the time of Lohri celebration, a lot of people gather up at one place. They circle around the rising flames of fire and at this time, they throw edibles like puffed rice, popcorns, etc. While doing so, they say “Adar Aye Dilethar jaye”, by this they mean to pray that “may honor come and may poverty peter out”.
At the time of celebrating the festival of Lohri, they also sing folk songs. Lohri is a festival in which people offer prayers to Agni (fire) to let their land get blessed with fertility and abundance. After they are done with the rounds around the bonfire (Parikrama), gift exchange ritual with relatives and friends begin. Once the Pooja and other related rituals are done, Prasad (holy food offering) is distributed to all the people present in the celebration. The most important part of this celebration is the Lohri Prasad, which includes sweets like Gajak and Rewri together with some other munchies such as peanuts, popcorns and jaggery. After that, all the guests are served with some traditional edibles like cooked mustard herbs with multi-millet chapattis for dinner.
The Traditional Performance
After getting done with all the related rituals, Bhangra, which is the traditional dance of Punjab, is performed by men. This celebration goes on till late night on the day of Lohri. These traditional touches add up more vigor and excitement to the festive mood.Maghi: The Day Following Lohri
The day of Maghi falls on the next day of Lohri. This day signifies the commencement of Magh month. In accordance with the beliefs of Hindu religion, Maghi is considered to be the most auspicious day for taking a dip into the holy river together with doing some charity. Sweets such as Kheer (sweet rice porridge dessert) are prepared by adding sugar cane juice, rice and milk as Prasad for the day.
Showing Gratitude Toward The Harvest God
The festival of Lohri comes up with a chance for the people to put aside all their tensions and worries. On this day, people get an opportunity to keep away from their hectic work schedules and to enjoy this festive day to the fullest. On this day, people offer prayers to the harvest God so their land could get the blessings to be amazingly fertile.
Hope you will have a great time this Lohri 2014. Stay tuned to AstroSage for more such interesting stuff.
Happy Lohri 2014!
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