Facts You Didn't Know About Lohri!

• The festival of Lohri marks the culmination of winter by worshiping fire. The lighting of the fire signifies the return of longer days.
• In India, the beginning of a new year is followed with one of the most popular and celebrated festivals known as Lohri. The festival has a deep rooted connection with ancient cultures and traditions of India. 
•  Lohri marks the end of winter on the last day of Paush and beginning of Magha which is exactly when the sun changes its course. It is believed that the Lohri night is the coolest night of winters as it is also the longest night of the year and ironically it is also the shortest day of the year too!
• The festival of Lohri is best celebrated in the state of Punjab, the festival marks the beginning of the harvesting season at the end of winters. On the night of the festival family members, relatives and neighbors come together and perform bhangra and giddas around a bon fire. Dinner comprises of traditional preparations, ending the meal with several sweets. People exchange sweets and young lads go door to door dancing on the beats of bhangra asking for Lohri gifts. the first Lohri a bride celebrates with her husband’s family is considered very special. Her presence makes the occasion more majestic.  Lohri involves a Puja Parikrama around the bonfire and distribution of Prasad. This symbolizes a prayer to Agni, the spark of life, for abundant crops and prosperity. The first Lohri of a new born child and a newly-wed bride is considered very auspicious.
• Scholars believe that the origin of the Lohri can be traced back to the tale of Dulla Bhatti. And Dulla Bhatti is also the central character in most Lohri songs.  Dulla Bhatti is believed to be a Muslim highway robber who lived in Punjab during the reign of Akbar. He had quite a reputation in the region considering the fact that he was a bandit. But besides robbing the rich, he also rescued Hindu girls who were being forcibly taken to be sold as slaves in the market of Middle East. Dulla Bhatti even arranged their marriages to Hindu boys and even provided them with dowries. Understandably, due to these actions he became famous amongst Punjabis for being their Robin Hood. Hence, every other Lohri song's lyrics are dedicated to basically express gratitude to Dulla Bhatti. 
• Lohri is also celebrated as the harvest festivals. As traditionally January is the time period to harvest sugarcane crops. And sugarcane products such as jaggery and gachak are essential to Lohri celebrations. 
• Another reason why the festival is important is that Punjabi farmers consider the day after Lohri as the financial New Year, which also holds immense importance to the Sikh community. The festival of Lohri has a real meaning to the farmers of Punjab, for the state is the wheat bowl of India. They regard the festive day as the end of winter and beginning of spring. On this day, bon fires are lit at almost every place signifying the end of winters. Farmers relate the festival with harvesting of crops like rabi and by gifting sweets or money to the poor folks, they pray that the upcoming season will bring prosperity to their lives.
•  Usually, in the evening people gather around the bonfire and throw puffed rice and popcorn into the fire, chanting "aadar aye dilather jaye" which means 'may honor come and poverty vanish'. 
• In fact the reason why folk songs are sung on Lohri is to thank the Sun God and to seek his continued protection for the coming year. Apart from dancing and Gidda, kite flying on Lohri is also very popular. A festival essentially dedicated to the fire and the sun God, Lohri is associated with the concept of life and health in the Hindu religion. During this time the sun transits from the zodiac sign Capricorn and moves north. This new configuration lessens the impact of winter, ushering in the summer. The bon fire is also lit to ward off the cold winds and welcome the warmth of spring. This is the reason why the bonfire is worshiped and venerated as a deity. People propitiate the fire by offering peanuts, popcorn, and sweets.

There are multiple versions as to where Lohri has derived its name. The first one being from Loi, who was the wife of Sant Kabir, for in rural Punjab Lohri is also pronounced as Lohi. Others also believe that Lohri comes from the word loh, which is a thick iron sheet tawa which is also used for making chapattis. And another legend says that Holika and Lohri were sisters. While as we know that Holika perished in the Holi fire, the latter survived. But one more legends says that since eating of til (sesame seeds) and rorhi (jaggery) is part of the festival, then perhaps the words til and rorhi merged to become tilorhi, which eventually got shortened over the years to Lohri.  The word Lohri is also believed to have an origin from the word regional word ‘loh’ which means warmth and light of fire.