LOHRI
The Fire Festival Lohri falls on January 13 every year. Considered the coldest day of the year, Lohri celebrations are marked by the lighting of bonfires. Celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi, Lohri occurs in the month of Magha and falls on January 13 every year. It marks the end of the long and arduous winter. According to Hindu mythology, a year represents a 24-hour period in the life of the gods. The first six months represent the day, which is considered auspicious, and the second half the night, which is inauspicious. Lohri marks the last day in the night of the gods and is succeeded by Makara Sankranti, which welcomes the sun back to the northern hemisphere. This festival follows the solar calendar and also celebrates nature in all its bounty. Lohri occurs at a time when there is nothing to be done in the fields. The overworked farmers therefore take time off from their lands to enjoy and make merry. Since this day is traditionally considered the coldest day of the season, people collect in the evening around a bonfire made of dried hay and leaves to sing and dance. Bhangra and Gidda are the most popular dance forms. Special Lohri songs are also sung. In villages, the Lohri mood builds up over a week. Young boys and girls go from door to door, singing special Lohri songs and collecting gifts and money from residents. In the evenings, people gather to drink country liquor and celebrate. Two days prior to the festival, twigs and logs, dry leaves, hay, and paper are collected and placed in an open area away from the houses and barns. This is in preparation of the Lohri bonfire, the central event of the festival. Sometimes donations are accepted from residents to buy wood from the market. On the evening of Lohri, the eldest woman of the family prays for its welfare and prosperity and for the community. An elder then ceremonially kindles the fire. Once it is ablaze, peanuts, sesame seeds, rewari, batashe, popcorn and other harvest produce are thrown into it. This is probably in thanks giving and to appease Arani Devi. Unmarried girls collect the nuts that escape the fire and eat them, in the hope of getting a good husband. The mood is upbeat and everyone sings and dances around the fire. The fire and the dancing provide respite from the biting cold. A newborn child`s and a bride`s first Lohri in her new home are very important. Friends and relatives are invited for the occasion. Both baby and newly wed are dressed up, a bride in all her finery wearing new clothes and jewelry given to her by her mother-in law. Kheer made with fresh sugarcane juice is a speciality on Lohri. Prayers are also offered to Arani Devi. In Himachal Pradesh, the festival is called Magli. This is the time when the Rabi crop has been sown, and there is little else to do. The farmers enjoy this temporary relief from their agricultural labour. A unique custom observed in Himachal Pradesh on Lohri is the slaughtering of a goat in every house. The goat, symbolic of fertility and prosperity, is fattened the whole year in preparation for its slaughter on Lohri.