Lohri

Overview

Lohri is a midwinter folk and harvest festival that marks the passing of the winter solstice and the end of winter. It is observed as a traditional welcome of longer days and the sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere. The festival is counted among the Indian harvest festivals and is observed on or near Makar Sankranti, in the month of Magha in the Indian calendar.

Lohri falls on the night before Maghi, in the month of Magh in the Punjabi calendar, and commonly occurs on 13 January each year. It is celebrated primarily in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, and also in other regions of northern India, including the Duggar region and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

The festival is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims in India, and is an official holiday in Punjab (India), Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. It is also marked in Delhi and Haryana, where it is not a gazetted holiday. In Punjab, Pakistan, Lohri is not observed at the official level, but Hindus and Sikhs, along with some Muslims, observe the festival in rural Punjab and in the cities of Faisalabad and Lahore. In recent years, there has been a revival of Lohri observance in Punjab, Pakistan.

References

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Lohri.