Lohri 2021: Significance, Traditions And How To Celebrate Lohri

Lohri 2021: A festival of happiness, warmth and abundance, Lohri is predominantly celebrated in Punjab and it's neighbouring regions. This year Lohri is on January 13, around the Uttarayan and Makar Sankranti. Celebrated with great enthusiasm, Lohri symbolizes the ripening of crops and the start of the harvest season. Lohri is all about togetherness, great food and singing and dancing around a huge bonfire. The festival brings out Punjab's rich traditions of agricultural prosperity, colour and the people's spirit of sharing. Lohri is thus a fine example of a community festival. Here's all about Lohri date, time, traditions and celebrations.

Lohri 2021: Date and time

Lohri is on Wednesday, January 13, Wednesday
Lohri Sankranti moment: 8:29 AM, January 14

Lohri and its significance

Lohri is the harvest festival of Punjab. It revolves around offering prayers and expressing gratitude to Agni (fire) and the Sun god for abundant crops. In Punjab, the main crop is wheat, which is sown after the rainy season in October and harvested in March or April. Around Lohri and Makar Sankranti, the wheat starts ripening giving hope to farmers who look forward to a bumper harvest. The festival has great social significance also as it brings people - both rich and the poor - together. The festive dinner comprising makki ki roti and sarson ka saag is cooked in all households and shared. There are special community chulhas (ovens) where women gather to make the roti. Lohri is thus more than just a festival for the people of Punjab.

Lohri prasad offered during puja

The five main items, which are a must during Lohri as prasad to be offered to the gods are til or sesame and items made with it, gajak or sweets made of peanuts and jaggery, moongphali  or peanuts, and phuliya or popcorn. People go around the bonfire throwing popcorn and peanuts in it.

Happy Lohri: Here's how to celebrate

• Bonfires are central to Lohri and the celebrations revolve around it, adding warmth and cheer in the cold winter night
• In the harvested fields, farmers light huge bonfires and villagers gather around it in the evening wearing colourful clothes. In urban areas, bonfires are lit in the community parks where people in the neighbourhood come with their families
• Lohri is a celebration of life and people love to sing and dance around the fire, throw peanuts, puffed rice, popcorn and rewari into the flames
• There are special Lohri songs and folklore that people sing together and share
• Traditionally children are known to go around singing in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a legendary Punjabi figure, much like Robin Hood, who was very kind to the poor and the downtrodden
• People fly kites on Lohri with Happy Lohri messages. Lohri kites have special names as well
• Group dances are very special on Lohri. A heritage of Punjab, men and women do Bhangra, Jhoomer, Giddha and Kikli - some of the popular traditional festive dances full of colour, rhythm and energy.

Happy Lohri 2021!