Yes! The winter harvest festival is right behind the corner of the door and people are eagerly waiting to celebrate it in its full swing. As you know, the lohri festival is all about exchanging lohri gifts online, getting together with family and friends, dancing around the bonfire, and enjoying scrumptious delights. The most common lohri ritual is giving offerings to the god of fire by putting foods like til, gajak, peanuts, and popcorn into the bonfire. Though it is a typical Punjabi festival, lohri is celebrated with great zeal all over India. Some of the reasons why you must experience the Lohri celebration at least once in your lifetime are given below.
The Meaning of Tilohri
Lohri actually comes from the word Tilohri in which 'til' means sesame and 'right' means gur. Eventually, the winter harvest festival was referred to as Lohri. The two traditional foods til and gur are associated with the lohri festival and are believed to come from within to bring renewed energy for the years to come. This is the reason why traditional foods are offered to the bonfire on a glorious day.
The Significance of the Bonfire
Are you looking for the reason why the act of offering traditional food to the bonfire assumes great significance on Lohri? It is because the bonfire represents the God of Fire, Agni. That's why people of Punjab offer different kinds of traditional food items to the fire to seek blessings, happiness, wealth, and prosperity from Lord Agni.
Exchange of Gifts
Lohri is also the ideal time to share happiness with family and friends by exchanging lohri gifts. With online gift shops, it is not a big deal for anyone to shop special and unique gifts for lohri. People from different parts of the country begin their preparations for lohri a few days before the festival. They purchase gifts and sweets for all their close ones to take the spirit of festivity to a new level.
Walking Around the Fire
It is believed that walking around the bonfire on Lohri day will bring good fortunes and luck in the lives of every individual. Many devotees of Lord Agni or God of Fire thus believe that prayers will receive immediate answers and things will change in a better way.
Goodbye Winters
The winter harvest festival marks the beginning of bright sunny days and bids goodbye to the cold gloomy winters. It also marks the New Year for Punjabi farmers and the day is believed to bring good health and prosperity to all. Every year people from different parts of North India gather with their kith and kin to pray and show gratitude for their Rabi crops before the harvesting begins.
Unique Ideas to Celebrate the Festival of Lohri!
The festival of lohri gives a beautiful reason to unfold the thrill of seeing the sparkling pearls of Rabi crops amidst delicious foods and dancing around the bonfire. Scroll on to know the best ways to celebrate lohri.
Add Colors
Traditional home dcor ideas such as handmade wall hanging, colorful pinwheels, colorful rangoli, and printed earthen pots lent the perfect festive feel. Adding an authentic flavor to your lohri celebration by simply replacing your curtains with bright festive ones can set the mood for celebration.
Savories and Desserts
The winter harvest festival falls on January 13th every year. It is celebrated widely by the people of the Punjabi community and their love of sweets and desserts is quite evident. Purchase the lohri essentials like revdi, gajak, and groundnuts from online shops and get them ready on the table. When the time is favorable serve your guests with those traditional recipes.
Set the Mood with Dhol and Nagara
The festival of lohri is considered incomplete with the tunes of dhol and nagara. The trending folk songs from Punjabi music albums can help you to get the guests grooving during the celebration.
Bottom lines
The most popular festival for Punjabi is right around the corner of the door and people around the country have already started their preparations to welcome the festival. So, order lohri gifts online and find new lohri celebration ideas to make the festival more exciting and thoughtful.