Lohri Festival

The focus of Lohri is on the bonfire. Gathering around the bonfire people sing and dance and friends and relatives exchange greetings. And it becomes part of the festival to throw sweets, puffed rice and popcorn into the fire.

A puja is performed beside the bonfire and the "Prasad" comprises of six main things : til, gazak, gur, moongphali, phuliya and popcorn is distributed. Children from door to door sings and ask for the Lohri prasad. There is puja, involving parikrama around the fire and distribution of prasad. This symbolizes a prayer to Agni, the spark of life, for abundant crops and prosperity. The traditional dinner with makki ki roti and sarson ka saag is quintessential.

This is particularly a happy occasion for the couples who for the first time celebrated Lohri after their marriage and also first Lohri of a new born child either a girl or a boy in a family.

One of the most famous song which children sing during this festival is: "The stories goes that a girl's life was made difficult in the village, a man who was to be known robber took charge of the girl and gave her in a marriage in a suitable manner like a sister/daughter."

Sunder mundriya …ho
Tera kaun vichara..ho
Dulla Bhatti walla…ho
Dulle ne ti viahiyi…ho
Saer Shakar payi…ho
Kudi de boje payee…ho
Shallu kaun samete…ho
Chacha galee dese…ho
Chache choori kutee…ho
Zamindaran lutee…ho
Zamindara sidaye…ho
Gin-gin pole layee…ho
Ik pola reh gaya…ho
Sipahi farh ke lei gaya…ho
Aakho mundao…taana…
Mukai da dana…
Aana lei ke jana…

The Lohri festival is one of the greatest festivals of Punjab and Haryana. It is celebrated on the 13th of January during the month of Paush or Magh, a day before Makar Sankranti.

Lohri is a festival connected with the solar year.This festival marks the departure of the winter season. Earlier it was celebrated mainly in Punjab but now across the country people celebrated this as a harvest festival like

Pongal- in Tamil Nadu,Bihu in Assam,Bhogi in Andhra pradesh and the Sankranti in Karnataka,Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

It is regarded most important specially by the people of Punjab not only as a festival but also as an example to show their styles and colors of life.The festival is celebrated as a merry-making after the completion of the harvest.

After the completion of cutting and gathering of the grains and other food crops everyone is free from the works where they used to toil days and night and it is liked taking relax by enjoying with their traditional folk songs and dances. 

Lohri Recipe: Til Gajak

Ingredients:

1 cup sesame
3/4 cup sticky jaggery
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
2 tbsp. clarified butter (ghee)

Method:

1. Heat sesame on low fire, stirring continuously so that they do not splutter and fall out of the pan. When cooled, pound them.
2. Heat jaggery in 1/2 cup water till the syrup is thick. Test its consistency by putting a drop in cold water -it should remain firm. Add roasted sesame.
3. Grease a board and spread the sesame-jaggery mixture. Roll flat to 1 cm thickness.
4. Cut into squares when sufficiently cool and hardened.
5. Store in a container lined with butter paper.