Lohri is a North Indian festival marking the end of short winter days and beginning of longer and warmer days. It is particularly a ritual of the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Delhi with people from all the religions sitting together beside the bonfire with traditional Punjabi sweets to celebrate the feast.
Contents of the blog:
Historical significance
Goodness of the rituals
Celebrations to offer
Economic point of view
Our contribution to Indian festivals
Historical significance:
With the sun moving to the northern hemisphere, Lohri is celebrated as an end to the winter solstice and an end of rabi season.
The history of the festival dates back to the reign of King Akbar when ‘Dulha Bhatti’, son of a peasant saved numerous Punjabi girls from being sold in the slave market of the Middle East.
Thus this cultural festival observes the folk songs in the memory and appreciation of Dulha bhatti.
The day of Lohri also coincides with the day prior to ‘maghi’ – the ‘makar sankranti’, a zodiac transition from Sagittarius to Capricorn.
Goodness of the rituals:
The festival is celebrated with bonfire and traditional sweets. The bonfire is a ceremony signifying the end of all the evils and inner wrath, hence bringing in peace and happiness.
The new positivity enlightened people to welcome the coming days of new season.
Celebrations to offer:
Together singing the folktales of Dulha bhati in unison, the singing troupe of youngsters is offered a celebration money and traditional sweets like gajhak, peanuts, rewri, gur etc. People with different ideas and different states of mind sit together around a bonfire on the night of Lohri with an intention to give up the bad beneath and tossing those various sweets into the bon. They also chitchat, sing, eat and enjoy the night together. Traditional dance – Bhangra and gidda are entertained on traditional music of dhol.
With children playing around, there’s an eidetic atmosphere of happiness and warmth.
Economic point of view:
This is a season which marks the beginning of harvesting of rabi crops. Looking at the fruit of the whole winter’s hard work, peasants and farmers celebrate with great enthusiasm. So the fest promises economic growth in the coming times for people particularly engaged in agriculture.
Our contribution to Indian festivals:
Indian culture observes numerous festivals and cultures around the year. Lohri, being the heart of the rituals itself, holds a special significance in the hearts of the people.
This is particularly popularizing it in the Sindhi community as well, where it has not been a tradition since long.
Our role here shall be marking such days with humanity and welfare for the destitute ones, in particular. There are numerous people out there who find it a day to help the needy – provide food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the destitute and shelter to the nomads.
Let’s make every such day remarkable with the language of humanity.
