Lohri 2022: Interesting facts, significance about festival
Lohri 2022: Lohri, the harvest festival celebrated on January 13 every year, marks the end of winter and the time to harvest rabi crops. As the festival is around the corner, enthusiastic people across the country are gearing up to light the bonfire, whirl around it singing Punjabi folk songs, and popping sesame seeds, popcorn, jaggery, and rewaris.
Here are the significance and interesting facts about the joyous festival. The occasion holds great significance among farmers, as they thank the almighty for a bountiful harvest of crops and forth on the occasion.
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"Lohri is also known as Maghi, as it is celebrated in the month of 'Maagh' and historically, during the 19th century, revenue for winter crops was collected on this day or Sankrant," told Gurnek Singh, a member of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee.
Traditionally, Lohri is also called as 'Lohi' in Punjabi. In houses that have recently had a marriage or childbirth, the celebrations of the festival are observed at a grand scale, otherwise, people usually have private Lohri celebrations, in their houses.
The major part of the festival is its folk songs. While whirling around the bonfire ladies performer 'gidda' and sing 'Sundar Mundariye' song which has words to express gratitude to 'Dulla Bhatti.' The tale behind the main song is known by a very few.
In states like Punjab and Haryana, kite flying competition is also observed. Markets are filled with aromatic traditional delicacies like gajak, peanuts, and popcorns. The vibe turns completely joyous when everybody dances to the beats of dhol, and dives into the scrumptious feast served.
Hence, with the hope that the large flames of the bonfire will carry the prayers of the people to God and bring warmth to the fields to help crops grow, people commemorate the day by exchanging greetings and gifts to their relatives and friends.
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-PTC News
