why is lohri celebrate
Answers
Answer: To the onlooker Lohri may be a festival where a bonfire is lit and people sing and dance, but for the community of Punjab – Lohri is the festival where they celebrate the year’s harvest season by offering prayers to gur, rewri and roasted peanuts to fire God and wishing for a fruitful financial year.
The popular belief is that Lohri is celebrated to end the peak winter season, however, that is not true. In fact, Lohri is celebrated to mark the harvest season of rabi crop and hence a tradition of eating til rice (sweetened sesame rice) along with makki di roti and sarson ka saag.
Celebrated the night prior to Makar Sankranti, on 13th January every year, Lohri comprises of puja and parikrama around the bonfire and distribution of Prasad. This is a festival to offer prayers to fire, for abundant crops and prosperity.
What Is The Significance And History of Lohri?
While the significance of Lohri is to thank Sun deity for the good harvest and to always keep his blessings on the community. The history of Lohri is quite interesting as well. There is a Punjabi folklore according to which there was a man by the name of Dulla Bhatti, whose real name was Abdulla Bhatti. He was a Robin Hood of Punjab and even today considered to be a legend. Regarded as a hero in Punjab, he used to save girls from being forcibly taken to be sold in the slave markets in the Middle East. He also happened to save two girls names Sundri and Mundri who are also being mentioned in the theme song along with Dulla Bhatti. On the occasion of Lohri, women and even children go around singing the traditional song Sunder Mundriye ho, which has mentions of Dulla Bhatti, from house to house in return of some snacks and money.
The Festivities
The festival of Lohri is incomplete without eating sheaves of roasted corn from the new harvest. Sugarcane produce such as jaggery and gajjak are also eaten along with nuts. Other traditional items eaten are sarson da saag,makke di roti, radish, groundnuts and jaggery. It is also traditional to eat sesame sweets infused with jaggery as a part of the celebrations. A bonfire is lit where folk Lohri Goddess is crafted with cattle dung, kindling a fire under it and praises are sung. This bonfire is lit at sunset and people toss sesame sweets and sugar at it, chat, sing and dance until the fire dies out.
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