📅 13 January 2026Returns next year
Lohri लोहड़ी
Agni / Surya · No fasting required
Punjabi winter-solstice harvest festival on the eve of Makar Sankranti. Families and neighbourhoods gather around a bonfire at dusk, circumambulating it while tossing sesame seeds, jaggery, rewari, popcorn, and peanuts into the flames as offerings to Agni. The ballad of Dulla Bhatti — the 16th-century Punjabi Robin Hood who rescued Hindu girls from slave traders — is sung in chorus.
Rituals (vidhi)
- 1.Lighting the community bonfire at sunset
- 2.Parikrama around the fire with til-gud, rewari, gajak offerings
- 3.Singing "Sundar mundriye ho" (Dulla Bhatti ballad)
- 4.First Lohri celebration for newlyweds and newborns
- 5.Sarson da saag and makki di roti community feast
Significance
Marks the end of the coldest fortnight (Pausha) and the lengthening of days from Uttarayana. The fire offerings symbolise the dissolution of the past year's negativity. Especially significant for the bride's first post-wedding winter and a baby's first Lohri — both celebrated with neighbourhood-wide invitations.