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Happy Lohri, Makkar Sakranti, Pongal

Our country is special in many aspects and one of them is we get a chance to celebrate a lot of festivals. As we are heading towards mid of January, during this period Rabi crop is harvested all over India and celebrated across the country but with different name.Seventy per cent of India’s population lives in villages, and a vast majority of people solely depend on agriculture. As a result, we find that most Hindu festivals are directly or indirectly linked to agriculture and related activities.
Happy Lohri, Makkar Sakranti, Pongal |_2.1

Our country is special in many aspects and one of them is we get a chance to celebrate a lot of festivals. As we are heading towards mid of January, during this period Rabi crop is harvested all over India and celebrated across the country but with different name.Seventy per cent of India’s population lives in villages, and a vast majority of people solely depend on agriculture. As a result, we find that most Hindu festivals are directly or indirectly linked to agriculture and related activities.
Significance
In Punjab, the breadbasket of India, wheat is the main winter crop, which is sown in October and harvested in March or April. In January, the fields come up with the promise of a golden harvest, and farmers celebrate Lohri during this rest period before the cutting and gathering of crops.

According to the Hindu calendar, Lohri falls in mid-January. The earth, farthest from the sun at this point of time, starts its journey towards the sun, thus ending the coldest month of the year, Paush, and announcing the start of the month of Magh and the auspicious period of Uttarayan. According to the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishnamanifests himself in his full magnificence during this time.
The Hindus ‘nullify’ their sins by bathing in the Ganges.

Customs & Legends 
In the morning on Lohri day, children go from door to door singing and demanding the Lohri ‘loot’ in the form of money and eatables like til (sesame) seeds, peanuts, jaggery, or sweets like gajak, rewri, etc. They sing in praise of Dulha Bhatti, a Punjabi avatar of Robin Hood who robbed the rich to help the poor, and once helped a miserable village girl out of her misery by getting her married off like his own sister.


The Bonfire Ritual 
In the evening, with the setting of the sun, huge bonfires are lit in the harvested fields and in the front yards of houses and people gather around the rising flames, circle around (parikrama) the bonfire and throw puffed rice, popcorn and other munchies into the fire, shouting “Aadar aye dilather jaye” (May honor come and poverty vanish!), and sing popular folk songs. This is a sort of prayer to Agni, the fire god, to bless the land with abundance and prosperity. After the parikrama, people meet friends and relatives, exchange greetings and gifts, and distribute prasad (offerings made to god).

The prasad comprises five main items: til, gajak, jaggery, peanuts, and popcorn. Winter savories are served around the bonfire with the traditional dinner of makki-di-roti (multi-millet hand-rolled bread) and sarson-da-saag (cooked mustard herbs).
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Song & Dance


Bhangra dance by men begins after the offering to the bonfire. Dancing continues till late night with new groups joining in amid the beat of drums. Traditionally, women do not join Bhangra. They hold a separate bonfire in their courtyard orbiting it with the graceful gidda dance.
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Kite flying
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Kite flying gives feeling of joy, togetherness and enthusiasm. On this auspicious occasion , people enjoy kite flying and India’s Kite Festival is also celebrated in Gujrat on 15th Jan where uttarayan is celebrated.
HAPPY LOHRI TO ALL

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