Lohri
| Lohri | |
|---|---|
Lohri bonfire | |
| Official name | Lohri |
| Also called | Lal Loi |
| Type | Religious, cultural, seasonal |
| Significance | Midwinter festival, celebration of winter solstice |
| Celebrations | Bonfire, songs and dance (bhangra and giddha) |
| Date | 13 January |
| Frequency | Once in a year |
| Related to | Maghi, Makar Sankranti |
Lohri is a midwinter folk and harvest festival that marks the passing of the winter solstice and the end of winter. It is a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the Indian harvest festivals observed on or near Makar Sankranti (in the month of Magha in the Indian calendar) and falls on the night before Maghi (in the month of Magh in the Punjabi calendar) which commonly falls on 13 January every year. It is celebrated primarily in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan and also other regions of northern India such as Duggar and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Lohri is celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs in India and is an official holiday in Punjab, India, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. The festival is celebrated in Delhi and Haryana but is not a gazetted holiday.
In Punjab, Pakistan it is not observed at the official level but Sikhs, Hindus and some Muslims observe the festival in rural Punjab and in the cities of Faisalabad and Lahore.