Lohri 2023: Lohri marks the start of a new harvesting season as well as the ripening of winter crops. People in Punjab and Haryana particularly enjoy celebrating the auspicious Lohri festival.
Lohri 2023: Lohri is about bonfires, fancy foods, gifts, and dancing to the sounds of joy, love and light. But, do you know the traditional meaning of holy bonfire and why people together revolve around it post-sunset? Lohri is also about paying gratitude to the almighty deity apart from dancing to the beats of the dhol and enjoying a scrumptious feast. It is a festival that belongs to the region of Punjab and is mostly celebrated in the northern part of India. The popular festival marks the end of winter and the onset of spring. Gauravi Malhotra, tarot reader of All India Institute of Occult Science shares essential things to keep in mind during Lohri.
LOHRI 2023 CUSTOMS, RITUALS, PRASAD AND ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Lohri Customs: Lohri comes from ‘Tilohri’ i.e. Til means sesame and Lohri means jaggery. Gur or the jaggery helps in cleansing the body and giving the energy needed for the new year. We move around Lord Agni, who brings prosperity into our lives, around the flames while singing the Lohri song.
- Lohri Significance: The fire pit represents Lord Agni and people ask Lord Agni for blessings, wealth, and happiness after presenting food to him in order to banish negativity from their homes and lives. Farmers pray to Lord Agni for an abundant harvest and express gratitude for their crops before harvest begins. They circle the fire while chanting – ‘Aadar aye dilater jaye (May honour arrive and poverty leave).’
- Lohri Prasad: Food like gajak, til, peanuts, popcorn, rabadi, sugarcane, and numerous other sweets are tossed into the fire symbolizing the burning of the previous year and the beginning of the new year on Makar Sankranti. As Lohri is a harvest celebration, try not to throw away any food. Your food deserves your respect and thanks.
- Lohri Rituals: The level of excitement around Lohri celebrations will elevate in homes that have recently had a marriage or delivery. Children visit houses during the day, singing songs and receiving treats, money, and savoury foods. Giving them nothing in return is said to be unlucky.
- Lohri Honour: Keep your legs away from the flames since it is the Agni dev. Honour it by admiring it.
