So how are you all ? I hope you all are well. so Topic of what we are going to read today in this blog is Lohri ..……………………..

Lohri is a popular North Indian winter folk festival celebrated primarily in the panjab region.
this much-awaited festival marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of the happy sunny days.this festival is observed the night before Makar sankranti which occurs the same date of every years. Lohri marks the arrival of longer days after the winter solstice and harvesting of the Rabi crops. Primarily Sikhs and Hindus of this region like to deck up in colorful traditional attires, sing and dance around the bonfire. They welcome the longer day of warmer temperatures by offering different food items to the Fire God and offer prayers to destroy all negativity from their life and to bless them with new energy at the beginning of the year.

Traditionally, the word Lohrl comes from “Tilohr! i.e. ’til’ meaning sesame and ‘rorhi’ meaning Jaggery (gur). Later on, people started calling it Lohri. Scientifically, all these food ingredients help to cleanse the digestive system and help to bring new energy for the New
Year as well as to harvest new crops. That is the reason behind foods like jaggery, gajak, til ki chikki are offered to the fire as an ancient way of paying gratitude to nature.
How Lohri is celebrated? In the present time, the concept of Lohri has changed a lot. People simply love to dance around the bonfire to the tunes of hit chartbuster, fancy foods, etc. But traditionally Lohri was celebrated by lighting a huge bonfire in a common place after cutting down the ravi crops.

On this day people bring foods like til (black sesame seeds), gejak, gur (jaggery), peanuts, and popcorn as prasad and place beneath the fire. The bonfire is lit after sunset and people gather near the bonfire while wearing their brightest clothes and make a circle around it and offer sesame seeds, jaggery, and rewarles in it. Then, they sit around the fire and sing Punjabi songs, special Lohri songs, and dance till midnight.
At the end of the celebration, they pray to the Fire god and Sun God to bless their land with abundance and prosperity. Then, prasad is distributed and gifts are exchanged with their friends and family members.

when will we make lohri this years:

Generally Lohri festival is celebrated a day before Makar Sankranti on January 13. But this year there is a confusion whether Lohri is on January 13 or 14. ​As per Drik Panchang, the Lohri will take place on Saturday, January 14, 2023 and Makar Sankranti will fall on January 15 on a Sunday. The Lohri Sankranti tithi will be at 8.57 pm.

Foods for Lohri The discussion of the grand festival Lohri is incomplete without the mouth-watering winter foods that are cooked and celebrated on this day. The traditional Punjabi food items Include Sarson da saag and Makki of roti with radish, groundnuts, Jaggery, til ki
barfi, gur ki rotti makhane ki kheer, panjiri, pinni, till laddoo, and many more.

Special dance of the day: Singing and dancing are an intrinsic part of the celebration. Lohn In the Himalayan region is special because various traditional activities are associate with it like Chajja making, group dance, and dancing using various props.
All members of a family gather around the bonfire to perform bhangra and gidda to the beat of the dhol. Hiran dance is a traditional dance form, which is performed on this night. A group of people prepares a replica of a peacock known as Chajja and they carry this Chajja and visit all houses of that locality while performing the Hiran dance.

Traditional practices on Lohri: Lohri celebration differs depending on the location, Some villagers prepare a small idol of the folk Lohri goddess with gobar (cattle dung) and decorate it with different colors. Then they keep the idol beneath the fire and offer prayers.
On this day, children visit various houses while singing folk songs. These children are given sweets, groundnuts, laddoos, til, gachchak, popcorn, crystal sugar, and some money.
It is believed to be inauspicious to turn them back empty-handed. These items collected together are known as Lohrl. During the night, Lohri is distributed among all the participants as prasada.

Significance of Lohri The much-awaited festival of Lohri holds great significance as it marks the harvest of the Rabi crops and the end of the winter season. People worship the Sun God and the Fire God to thank them for the good harvest. This day Is celebrated by all
communities of northern india with different names.

. In Punjab, this festival holds special value for the new brides and newborn babies, as it marks fertility. The festival also holds great importance for farmers, as they believe that their prayers and concerns will receive an immediate answer and their land will smile with an abundance of crops.
. On this holy day, according to the folklores of Punjab, the flames of the bonfire will carry the messages and prayers to the sun god to bring warmth to the planet to help crops grow.
. It is also believed that singing and dancing and walking around the bonfire on Lohri, help in bringing prosperity strength and new beginning.

Legend of Lohri festival There are many folklores associated with this historic festival of Punjab, and Dullah Bhatti is one of the most significant of them which evolved around the Festival of Lohri. It is a tale of a man who used to steal from the rich and rescue girls from cruel abductors.He used to rescue the girls and provide food and shelter to them as if they were his own daughters. Finally. he used to arrange a suitable man for their weddings. On this day of Lohri, songs of heroism and valour are sung and recited everywhere in Punjab to protect and honour their sisters and daughters.
Most popular song on the eve of Lohri:

Sundri Mundri Hei Hoi
Tera Kaun Becharal Hai
Dullah Bhatti wala! Hoi
Dullah Di Dhi viyahi ! Hoi

Sher Shakar pai Hai
Kuri de Mamme aaye Hoi
UnaNe ChuRi Kuti! Hai
Jimidari Lutti Hoi
ik kola GhuT Gaya
Jimidar Apni……

Summary: Lohri is one of the most popular festivals celebrated among Punjabis in india and abroad. Lohri marks the end of the winter season and beginning of the New Year for Punjabi farmers. On this day, people of this region pray and show gratitude for their crops
before the harvesting begins and pray to Lord Agni and Lord Sun to bless them with new energy and enthusiasm for a new beginning.

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