People in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent celebrate Lohri as a tradition to mark the beginning of longer days and the sun's journey to the northern hemisphere. The festival of Lohri, also called Lohadi or Lal Loi, takes place the day before Makar Sankranti. The people of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir have been celebrating the joyous occasion of Lohri with great fanfare ever since the Mughal era. Lal Loi is the name given to the celebration by the Sindhi people.
Festivals held in honor of Lohri are especially meaningful because they signal the end of one growing season and the beginning of the next, when the rabi crops are harvested. As the days get longer and the nights get shorter starting the day after Lohri, Makar Sankranti is celebrated as a welcome sign of spring and warmer weather. A similar idea is symbolized by the bonfire that is lit during the festival.
According to the Vikrami calendar, Lohri is celebrated the day before Maghi, also known as Makar Sankranti in the rest of India. Lohri is observed in the month of Paush, and its date is fixed according to the solar component of the lunisolar Punjabi calendar, which typically places it on or around the 13th of January. But Drik Panchang predicts that the Lohri celebration will take place on January 14, 2023, which means that Makar Sankranti will fall on January 15, 2023. Furthermore, the Brahma Muhurta is from 5:27 to 6:21 a.m., and the Lohri Sankranti tithi is at 8:57 p.m.
On this day, people all over the world perform Parikrama around a bonfire they have lit with wood and cow dung cakes, feeding it sesame seeds, jaggery, gajak, rewdi, and peanuts as an act of worship. In addition, they gather the harvest and smolder the bhog they produce.
They get dressed up to dance the Bhangra and Gidda to the rhythm of the dhol. The crowd is ecstatic as Punjabi music plays. Lohri dinner typically consists of Sarson da saag and Makki di roti as the main course.
The Lohri Foods or Winter foods which are made on this day are:
Sarson da saag and makki di roti
Til ki barfi
Gur ki roti
Makhana ki kheer
Panjiri
Pinni
Till laddoo
Gondh laddoo
In the spirit of Lohri, young people pay visits to their neighbors while singing "Dulla Bhatti," a traditional folk song of the festival. An individual takes the lead on the vocals, with the group chiming in with a resounding "Ho!" at the end of each line. The adult of the house is obligated to provide the singing group with refreshments, cash, and possibly other items after the performance.
