Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Lohri Festival

The Lohri festival is celebrated with sheer joy by people.Many cultural events take place and people enjoy every bit of this festival. Lohri is the harvest festival and is celebrated by Sikhs. It is basically the festival of Punjab and Haryana. The celebrations of Lohri start early morning and people wish each other for blissful Lohri.
Punjabi farmers see the day after Lohri (Maghi) as the financial new year. It is a very important day. The farmers celebrate Lohri as such. New agricultural tenancies commence on Lohri and rents are collected on this day.

The festival has been twinned with the astrological festival of Maghi celebrated in the rest of India as Makar Sankranti. Other cultures observe winter solstice as per its original meaning. Lohri falls in the month of Paush.
Lohri festival food:
It is traditional to eat GajakSarson da saag with Makki di rotiradish, ground nuts and jaggery. It is also traditional to eat "til rice" which is made by mixing jaggery, sesame seeds and rice.

In various places of the Punjab, about 10 to 15 days before Lohri, groups of young and teenage boys and girls go around the neighbourhood collecting logs for the Lohri bonfire. In some places, they also collect items such as grains and jaggery which are sold and the sale proceeds are divided amongst the group.

A popular activity engaged in by boys is to select a group member to smear his face with ash and tie a rope around his wait! The idea is for the selected person to act as a deterrent for people who refrain from giving Lohri items. The boys will sing Lohri songs asking for Lohri items. If not enough is given, the householder will be given an ultimatum to either give more or the rope will be loosened. If not enough is given, then the boy who has his face smeared will try to enter the house and smash clay pots or the clay stove and this festival boy's  wear  kurta and girl's wear Salwar Suit.
Lohri Songs.....
Sunder mundriye ho!
Tera kaun vicharaa ho!
Dullah Bhatti walla ho!
Dullhe di dhee vyayae ho!
Ser shakkar payee ho!
Kudi da laal pathaka ho!
Kudi da saalu paata ho!
Salu kaun samete!
Chacha gali dese!
Chache choori kutti! zamidara lutti!
Zamindaar sudhaye!
Bum Bum bhole aaye!
Ek bhola reh gaya!
Sipahee far ke lai gaya!
Sipahee ne mari itt!
Bhaanvey ro te bhaanvey pitt!
Sanoo de de Lohri, te teri jeeve jodi!







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