Celebrate the Joys of Lohri Wholeheartedly
Table of Contents
First Festival of the New Year
Lohri and Makar Sankranti festival is the first festival celebrated at the beginning of the new year. This is a festival which has a unique feeling of the first and the latest. In North India, this first festival of the new year is celebrated with great joy as the first Lohri of the new bride and the newborn baby.
There is such an atmosphere of happiness on this festival that while celebrating Lohri at night, the whole family unites, dances and sings in happiness. This festival is celebrated the most in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The festival of Lohri is a symbol of happiness, prosperity and joy. People celebrate this festival together and sing songs of joy.
Makar Sankranti
The festival of Makar Sankranti is also celebrated with great pomp on the next day of Lokdi. On this day, the Sun enters the North direction from the South, which is considered to be the beginning of long days. Kite flying on Makar Sankranti has its own fun. Along with this, this day is also celebrated as New Year and blessings are sought from the elders by gifting them clothes etc.
Meaning of Lohri
In the word Lohri, ‘L’ means wood, ‘Oh’ means Goha i.e. burning dry cow dung cakes and ‘D’ means Revdi. That is why this festival is called ‘Lohri’. After Lohri, the weather starts changing and the effect of cold starts reducing gradually.
Fun, Bonfire and Dance at Night
To celebrate the festival of Lohri, people light a special Lohri fire. Jaggery, peanuts, Revdi, Gajak, popcorn etc. are offered. People dance around the fire and sing songs. The festival of Lohri is a time of joy and celebration. Also, it is a unique occasion where people come together and welcome the New Year. On the day of Lohri, preparations for the night’s celebration begin from the morning itself. And at night people light bonfires outside their houses and circle around it, putting sesame seeds, jaggery, revdi, etc. in it. After that, a beautiful program of gidda (dance) and bhangra begins around the bonfire, which continues till late night.
Dulla Bhatti and Sunder Mundriye
The festival of Lohri is particularly associated with an incident that happened during the Mughal period. It is celebrated in the memory of Dulla Bhatti. It is said that there was a bandit named Dulla Bhatti during the time of Akbar. Of course, he was a dacoit, but he never backed down in helping the needy. Once, at the marriage of a poor Brahmin girl named Sundar Mundriye, the poor Brahmin pleaded with Dulla Bhatti dacoit. Dulla Bhatti was a Muslim, but he never had any religious discrimination in his heart. When the news reached Emperor Akbar that Dulla Bhatti would come to Sundar Mundriye’s wedding, the emperor increased security on the wedding day.
As promised, Dulla Bhatti came to his sister’s wedding. It is said that he brought a lot of wedding accessories, dupattas, clothes and jewellery with him. After the farewell, Akbar’s soldiers surrounded dacoit Dulla Bhatti from all sides. A fierce fight ensued and finally Dulla Bhatti was killed. Since then, this incident became a symbol of love and brotherhood that Dulla even sacrificed his life in his sister’s wedding. Eversince, the festival of Lohri is celebrated in the context of this incident. The Punjabi folk song “Sunder Mundriye” is also sung with great enthusiasm and respect in the memory of Dulla Bhatti.
“Sunder Mundriye ho!
(This addresses Sundri Mundriye, the girl rescued by Dulla Bhatti.)
Tera kaun vichara ho!
(Who is your protector?)
Dulla Bhatti wala ho!
(It’s Dulla Bhatti, the brave hero.)
Dulle ne dhi vyahi ho!
(Dulla Bhatti got the daughter married.)
Ser shakkar payi ho!
(Dulla Bhatti gifted a measure of sugar.)
Kudi de lal pataka ho!
(The girl got a red shawl.)
Kudi de saalu paatta ho!
(The girl got a beautiful scarf.)
Salu kaun samete ho!
(Who will gather the scarf?)
Everyone sings this song together and later on pronounces ‘Ho’ loudly. On the occasion of Lohri, a fire is lit at night and everyone gathers around it and distributes Revadiya, corn flowers, dates etc. while singing songs of joy. Among Punjabis, if it is the first wedding anniversary of a boy or a girl, then they celebrate this festival with even more joy. And if there is a newborn child in the house, then also this festival is celebrated in the traditional way. Although this festival of Lohri is celebrated all over the country, yet the real fun and excitement of Lohri is seen only in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal.
Celebrate Lohri & Eat Healthy Food
Peanuts, jaggery-sesame laddoos, popcorn, gajak etc. are eaten with great gusto on Lohri festival. These dishes are delicious to eat and contain elements like protein, iron, calcium etc. Peanuts and sesame are also good sources of fat. Use sweets in very limited quantities, only to sweeten the mouth on the festival.
- Jaggery Roti: Jaggery roti is included in the meal on this festival, along with the maize roti, and mustard greens are also consumed a lot these days.
- Khichdi: Khichdi is made on Makar Sankranti, and many vegetables are added to it. Bajra khichdi and rice-lentil khichdi are eaten with great relish.
- Jaggery-sesame Laddu: There is a tradition of eating sesame-jaggery on Sankranti. Somewhere laddu is made of flour and sesame, somewhere sesame and peanuts are added to jaggery. Overall, these become a good source of protein, iron, calcium and vitamins. If you want to make something sweet for diabetic patients on this festival, then you can make a sweet of peanut and sesame. Use soaked and crushed figs for binding purpose.
Help the Needy
Revered Guru Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan always teaches us that the best way to celebrate any festival is to do human welfare. Makar Sankranti is considered a day of welfare. Therefore, you can celebrate this day by giving ration, clothes etc. to the needy.
