Lohri 2027

Puja Vidhi

Who Celebrates This Festival?

• Families of Punjab and North India: Households across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Delhi celebrate Lohri together with their neighbours, around a shared bonfire.
• Farming Families: Farmers give thanks to Agni Dev and Surya Dev for the ripening rabi crop, sugarcane, and sesame, and pray for a good harvest.
• Families With a New Beginning: The first Lohri of a newborn child or a newly married couple is celebrated with special joy, and the whole community gathers to bless them.

When Should This Be Performed?

• Evening Bonfire: The Lohri fire is lit after sunset, in the evening hours (Pradosh). Check the sunset time for your city on this page.
• Offerings to the Fire: Til, rewri, gajak, popcorn, and peanuts are offered into the fire as the family walks around it.
• Songs and Prasad: Folk songs and dancing continue around the fire late into the evening, and the prasad is shared with everyone present.

About the Festival

Lohri is a much-loved Punjabi festival that marks the end of the coldest days of winter and celebrates the ripening of the rabi crop. Families gather around a bonfire, offer sesame and jaggery sweets to the fire, and sing the traditional Lohri songs. The next morning is Makar Sankranti, which is kept in Punjab as Maghi. It takes place on the evening before Makar Sankranti, the day the Sun enters Makara rashi.

The Katha (Story of Dulla Bhatti)

Long ago, in the days of the Mughal emperor Akbar, there lived in Punjab a brave man named Dulla Bhatti. He took from the rich and cruel and gave to the poor, and the people of the villages loved him as their protector.

In those days, girls from poor families were often carried away by force to be sold in distant markets. Dulla Bhatti could not bear this injustice. He rescued many such girls, and, as the folk songs remember, he arranged the marriages of two of them, Sundri and Mundri, as if they were his own daughters. With no priest at hand, he lit a fire in the forest, had the couples walk around it, and gave the brides a gift of sugar (shakkar) as their dowry, blessing them as a father would.

The people never forgot his kindness. Since that day, families in Punjab have sung "Sundar mundriye, ho! Tera kaun vichara, ho! Dulla Bhatti wala, ho!" around the Lohri fire, remembering the protector of the village daughters and praying for the safety and happiness of their own children.

Samagri List (Items Needed)

Gather these items before lighting the evening fire:

• For the Fire: Dry wood, cow-dung cakes (Uple), and a little Ghee to light it
• Tilak & Sacred Powder: Roli and Akshat (unbroken rice grains)
• Lamps & Incense: A Diya with Ghee and cotton wick, and incense sticks
• Sacred Water Container: A Lota filled with clean water, for sprinkling around the fire
• Offerings to the Fire (Aahuti): Til (sesame), rewri, gajak, popcorn (Phulle), peanuts, and jaggery
• Prasad: The same sweets, kept aside on a plate to share with everyone

Puja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

Follow these step-by-step instructions carefully to perform the ritual correctly:

Step 1: Evening Preparation and Sankalp

1. Bathe and wear clean, festive clothes in the evening.
2. Take a small amount of water in your right palm and take a Sankalp (solemn vow): "O Agni Dev, today on Lohri we offer you the fruits of the new harvest with devotion. Bless our fields, our home, and our children with happiness and plenty."

Step 2: Preparing the Fire

1. Build the bonfire in an open courtyard or field, at a safe distance from homes, trees, and wires.
2. Sprinkle water from the Lota around the place of the fire, and apply a tilak of Roli and Akshat to the wood.

Step 3: Lighting the Fire

1. After sunset, light the Diya first, then light the bonfire from it, with a short prayer to Agni Dev.
2. The family and neighbours gather around the fire.

Step 4: Offerings and Parikrama

1. Walk around the fire (Parikrama), usually seven times, with folded hands.
2. Offer til, rewri, gajak, popcorn, and peanuts into the fire as Aahuti, praying for a good harvest and the wellbeing of the family.

Step 5: Lohri Songs and Dance

1. Sing the traditional Lohri songs, including the song of Dulla Bhatti, around the fire.
2. Dance the bhangra and gidda in celebration of the harvest.

Step 6: Seeking Blessings and Sharing Prasad

1. Touch the feet of the elders in your family to seek their blessings (Charan Sparsh), and bless the newborn or newly married in the family.
2. Give sweets and warm clothes as donations (Daan) to the needy.
3. Distribute the rewri, gajak, popcorn, and peanuts as prasad to everyone present.