Celebrated on 13th January every year in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, Lohri is basically an agrarian festival. It marks the end of winters and the end of harvest season for Rabi crops. People hold bonfire parties, complete with folk songs; traditional Punjabi dances on drum beats; sweets; and puffed rice, peanuts, and popcorn to throw in the fire as well as pop some in the mouths while dancing. Lohri represents carefree Punjabi spirit and their love for celebrations. Throughout the day, you can see children going from door to door, collecting traditional sweets, winter savories and money while singing Lohri songs. Most of the songs are about Dulha Bhatti, a Robin Hood of Punjab, who used to rob rich people and distribute the prize to the poor. The treats often include munchies, rewri, and gazak. These collections are meant to be thrown in the bonfires lit at night but hoodwinking adults to have a mouthful is a common practice among children.
In the evening, the bonfire is lit up and is believed to be embodiment of Agni, the God of Fire. People pray to it for abundance and prosperity. People circumambulate the fire, a ritual known as Parikrama, throwing prasad as an offering. Prasad consists of til (sesame seeds), gazak (sweet prepared from sesame seeds), gur (jaggery), moongphali (peanuts) and phuliya (popcorn). The traditional dinner served on this day is ‘Makke ki Roti (bread made of corn flour) and Sarson ka Saag (prepared from mustard plant)’. Especially in the families where marriages and birth of a child have taken place recently, Lohri merrymaking takes on a feverish pitch and nightlong furor of dhol, gidda, and bhangra seems intoxicating. New brides and newborns get the center stage and families mingle up to have a raging party.
Similar festivals that are celebrated all over India include Bhogi in Andhra Pradesh, Bhugali Bihu in Assam, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and Sankranti in Makar Sankranti in Bihar, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh. However, all these festivals have slightly different rituals. In Chennai, the Rath Yatra taken out at the Kandaswamy temple presents a pretty spectacle while the Ganga Sagar Mela held in Bengal is considered a holy affair too. Held at Sagara Island in Bay of Bengal, just 64 km from the Diamond Harbor, the Ganga Sagar Mela is quite a popular fair among Hindu devotees of the region. Lohri and other similar Indian festivals are often celebrated to welcome the abundance and prosperity that follows a bountiful harvest.
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