Lohri Festival

Lohri is a festival connected with the solar year. Generally, it is an accepted fact that this festival is to worship fire. This is particularly a happy occasion for the couples who for the first time celebrated Lohri after their marriage and also the first Lohri of the son born in a family. The wood crackles and burns, the fire blazes high, a circle of warmth on a cold winter's night. Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to the Sun god. Lohri is a joyous time to eat gur and peanuts, singing songs and share the warmth with your family and loved ones.

A week before Lohri, children begin gathering firewood, hunting for logs that will burn well.

A week before Lohri, children begin gathering firewood, hunting for logs that will burn well. A spirit of good-natured rivalry binds the community together and every one takes pride in making the biggest and most grand bonfire in their neighborhood. Lohri is an important festival which brings the entire community together, each family contributing sweets made of til and gur, peanuts, tilchowli and many other delicious home-made delicacies.

The Guru Granth Sahib praises this auspicious time of the month and says those who meditate before a fire will be blessed. Lohri, which marks the highest point in winter, is considered especially important for new born babies who are taken around the bonfire. They pray for prosperity even as they make offerings of til (gingelly), moongphali (peanuts) and chirwa (beaten rice) to the burning embers.

According to legend, a good Lohri sets the tone for the whole year ahead - the more joyous and bountiful the occasion, the greater will be the peace and prosperity. Some people believed that Holika and Lohri were sisters. While the former vanished into the fire, Lohri survived and lives on.

The rituals and celebrations associated with Makara Sankaranti and Lohri are only symbolic of a common thanksgiving to nature as represented by the Sun god, and in the process, the festivities embody a spirit of brotherhood, unity and gratitude, with family reunions and merrymaking generating a lot of happiness, goodwill and cheer.

Makar Sankranti

Pongal | Makar Sankranti | Kanumu | Lohri | 
Bihu / Bohaggiyo Bhishu Bhogi | Thai Pongal |  Hadaga Festival

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. The festival of Makar Sankrant traditionally coincides with the beginning of the Sun's northward journey (the Uttarayan) when it enters the sign of Makar (the Capricorn). It falls on the 14th of January every year according to the Solar Calendar. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun.

Celebration
It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Rajasthan & Gujarati not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. The Festival introduces kite enthusiasts world-wide to the intriguing beauty and cultural diversity of India.

Regional Significance
In Uttar Pradesh, Sankrant is called 'Khichiri'. Taking a dip in the holy rivers on this day is regarded as most auspicious. A big one-month long 'Magha-Mela' fair begins at Prayag (Allahabad) on this occasion. Apart from Triveni, ritual bathing also takes place at many places like Haridvar and Garh Mukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna in Bihar.

In Bengal every year a very big Mela is held at Ganga Sagar where the river Ganga is believed to have dived into the nether region and vivified the ashes of the sixty thousand ancestors of King Bhagirath. In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery.

In Gujarat there is a custom of giving gifts to relatives. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspicious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way. It has become an internationally well-known event.