Lohri ...the harvest festival of north India

Many Indian festivals herald the change of seasons, or celebrate the harvest. One such festival is Lohri, celebrated in north India on January 13. This is the time when the biting cold begins to wane, and farmers get ready to gather the harvest. Lohri celebrates the changing season, hopes for a good harvest, as well as a natural phenomena--the beginning of the sun’s upward journey towards the northern hemisphere! Lohri is celebrated specially as the harvest festival by the people of Punjab (a state in north India); Punjab is the breadbasket of India, so the focus of the festival is on food and thanksgiving. The winter crop of wheat is actually harvested in March-April, so this is a period when people are relatively free to join in the festivities.

The main celebrations take place around bonfires. Fire, or “Agni” is worshipped and plays an important role in rituals and festivals. People circle the bonfire thrice, while singing traditional folk songs and throwing in food items like fruits, sheaves of barley, sweets, peanuts and popcorn. This is done as thanksgiving as well as prayers for a good harvest. It is a celebration of fertility, and an acknowledgement of the gift of warmth and light from fire. The highlight in rural Punjab is the performance of folk dances around the bonfire, to the beat of traditional Indian drums.

Special sweets made of sesame seeds, or peanuts and jaggery are popular at this time---these are not just healthy and tasty, but considered “warm” foods for the winter.

Most parts of north India celebrate Lohri with fervor as a community festival, when differences are forgotten and people gather to greet each other and take part in the celebrations.