Lohri, is celebrated every year on 13th of January. It is a festival to worship fire. Lohri Festival is celebrated with great pomp in North India. At this time Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First Lohri is very important for the newly wed and the new born babies as it marks fertility.

At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw til, puffed rice & popcorns into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire seeking abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs.

How to Celebrate Lohri?
Lohri celebrations are marked by traditional songs and dances. People dress up nicely on the long-awaited bonfire festival. Lohri calls for family get-togethers and lavish dinners with sarson ka saag & makki ki roti. The day ends with prayers for a good harvest.

Lohri Fairs or Lohri Melas
On Lohri day, colorful fairs or melas are held in many of the villages of Punjab, Himachal and Haryana. These are basically seasonal fairs that celebrate the harvest for the fertility of fields. Lohri fairs are enchantingly picturesque with bustling market springing up, in which food and products of local handicrafts such as toys, glass bangles and an assortment of all kinds of articles for domestic use are on display. People come to participate in Lohri Melas from far-off places, trudging dusty distances.

Men women and children of all ages, classes and creeds flock in hundreds and enjoy the numerous fascinating features of the fair; races, wrestling bouts, singing, acrobatics, etc. They play on folk instruments, such as vanjli and algoza. There is fun and frolic all round the place where the Lohri fair is organized. The old as well as the young enjoy these fairs to the fullest as these fairs reflects the joy of the community. People enjoy the day inspite of cold weather as they very well know that warmth is not far away. Lohri festival is not just an occasion for festivity and mass gathering but it is an unbounded expression of the spirit of the inner freedom, of creative pride, of zest for life, and of colorful traditions of the people of Punjab.

Lohri Melas in Towns
In big cities and towns Lohri Melas are organized before or after the festival to give people an opportunity to get together. Stalls of handicraft and other products besides those selling food are organized in these fairs. Bonfire, joyful competitions along with swings and games are other attractions of traditional Lohri Melas. On several occasions, Lohri Melas are graced by popular singers and dancers making them all the more enjoyable. Punjabis living outside India too organize Lohri Melas and enjoy the festival to the hilt.

The Legends of Lohri
There are few renowned legends associated with this historic festival of Punjab, the most significant of them being the Dullah Bhatti, which evolved around the Festival of Lohri. Lohri marks the end of the dreary and awfully cold month of Pos (mid Dec to mid Jan) and the next day of Makar Sakranti, ushers in the bright and sunny month of Magh. This is particularly a happy occasion for the couples who for the first time celebrated Lohri after their marriage and also the first Lohri of the son born in a family.

Influence of Lohri
Lohri is one such festival which works as a tie-up bond for various communities. The festival is celebrated with great fervor and exuberance especially in North India. Farmers celebrate this harvest festival with traditional dances and songs. It falls on the 13th January when the Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan.

Astrological Influence:
The earth leans towards the sun along the Tropic of Capricorn (Makara rekha) from the day following Lohri, also known as Winter Solstice. The earth, farthest from the sun at this point of time, starts its journey towards the sun along its elliptical orbit, thus heralding the onset of spring. It is this transition which is celebrated as Lohri.

Spending Time with Family and Friends:
By celebrating Lohri altogether, people come across importance of agriculture, harvest and also relationship values. It gives a chance to spend time with family and friends. The main event of the day is huge bonfire with all the family members dancing around the holy fire. Thus, this festival is taken as a day to worship fire. Bonfires are also symbolic in paying homage to the Sun God as Lohri is the festival connected with the solar influence.