Happy Lohri 2021: Date, time, history and significance of popular harvest festival

Lohri is a popular harvest festival celebrated in India to mark the end of the winter solstice. People dress up for the occasion and create a bonfire. The day is observed by singing and dancing around the fire. Also, many special food items are prepared to celebrate the festival.

As Lohri is a harvest festival, it is very important for the farmers’ fraternity. Also the day is considered to be auspicious as per Hindu and Sikh beliefs.

Date

This year, Lohri will be celebrated in India on 13 January (Wednesday). Like most years, this year too, it has fallen on a day before Makar Sankranti.

As per Drik Panchang, the Lohri Sankranti moment in 2021 is at 8.29 am on 14 January.

How Lohri is marked

On this day, believers offer prayers to Agni Dev and the Sun God for blessing with an abundant yield. The festival is most widely celebrated in Punjab. This is because one of the main crops cultivated in the state is wheat which is harvested in March or April after being sown in October following the rainy season.

As the nights are still cold during this time, large bonfires are erected in fields where the entire community comes together to enjoy the warmth. Community cooking is seen at places where special dishes like makki ki roti and sarson ka saag are prepared on big shared ovens.

There is also the tradition of throwing jaggery, peanuts, puffed rice, and popcorn into the flames. There are several folk songs that are performed as people dance around the fire.

Also, there is a particular Lohri prasad that is offered during the puja. The prasad should contain sesame seeds or sweets made from it. Also, gajak or sweets made of peanuts and jaggery are a must have. Peanuts and popcorn are also widely used on this day.

As the festival represents fertility, the day is considered an auspicious one on which to get married on or to have a child.