Happy Lohri 2022: Lohri 2022 will be celebrated on January 13 this year. Lohri festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm mainly in Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana, and some parts of North India. This festival is celebrated a day prior to Makar Sankranti.
It is believed that the festival of Lohri is observed to celebrate new crops and the harvest season. It is also believed that the festival marks the passing of the winter solstice marking the end of winter.
Lohri falls in the month of Paush and is set by the solar part of the lunisolar Punjabi calendar According to the Vikrami calendar, Lohri usually falls on about the same date every year which is January 13.
For the Lohri festivity, a bonfire is lit and wheat sheaf is offered. People also throw Rewadi, peanuts, sesame seeds, chiki, and items made from jaggery in the bonfire and perform 'Parikrama'. Along with it songs are sung.
On this day, delicacies like 'Gajak' and 'Rewari' are relished sitting near the fire. In Punjab, 'Makke di Roti' (Flatbread made with cornmeal) and 'Sarso da Saag' (curry of Mustard greens) are eaten for dinner.
Historical references to Lohri are mentioned by European visitors to the Lahore Darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1832. The celebration of Lohri with the making of a huge bonfire at night is also noted in the royal court in 1844.
However, accounts of the Lohri celebration in royal circles do not suggest the origins of the Lohri festival. However, the folklore simply suggests it is a celebration of the arrival of longer days after the winter solstice.