About Lohri
Last updated:
- 🙏 Deity: Surya (Sun God) & Agni (Fire God)
- 📅 Lohri 2026 date:
- ⏳ Duration: 1 evening/night
- 🌙 Lunar month: N/A (fixed solar calendar date)
- 🗺️ Celebrated in: Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu; celebrated by Punjabi diaspora worldwide
Lohri is one of the most joyful and community-spirited festivals of North India, celebrated with particular fervor in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh. Observed every year on the night of January 13 — the eve of Makar Sankranti — Lohri marks the end of the winter solstice period and celebrates the sun's northward journey (Uttarayan), which brings longer days, warmer weather, and the promise of abundant harvests.
The festival is rooted in the agrarian rhythms of Punjab, where January marks the time when the winter rabi crop (especially mustard and wheat) is growing strong in the fields, almost ready for harvest. Lohri is thus both a thanksgiving to the sun and fire for sustaining life through winter and a joyful anticipation of the coming harvest. Farmers celebrate by lighting a massive communal bonfire in the village square, gathering families and neighbors around it in a circle.
The bonfire — which is the central element of Lohri — is lit at sunset or after dark. Families bring offerings of til (sesame seeds), gur (jaggery), popcorn, peanuts (moongphali), and rewari (sesame-jaggery sweets) and toss them into the fire while circling it. The offerings are made to Agni (the fire god) and Surya (the sun god), chanting 'aadar aaye dilather jaaye' (may honor come, may poverty leave). The warmth of the fire symbolizes the sun's increasing strength and the burning away of the cold, darkness, and difficulties of the past year.
Lohri also has a strong folk tradition centered on the ballad of Dulla Bhatti, a legendary Robin Hood-like hero of Punjab from the Mughal era who rescued poor girls from being sold into slavery and got them married with dignity. Folk songs praising Dulla Bhatti are sung around the bonfire, and his story has become inseparable from Lohri celebrations.
Significance of Lohri
Lohri's significance spans agricultural, solar, communal, and cultural dimensions:
Deities worshipped on Lohri
Follow the links to explore each deity’s mantras, stories, and temples on Temples.bio.
Lohri's presiding deities reflect the festival's roots in nature-worship and Vedic tradition:
Surya Deva (Sun God): Surya is the supreme deity of Lohri, as the entire festival revolves around the sun's northward journey (Uttarayan) beginning around this time. Surya is one of the most ancient of the Vedic Adityas, the giver of light, warmth, health, and agricultural abundance. Makar Sankranti (the next day) is explicitly a sun festival marking the sun's entry into Capricorn (Makara), and Lohri is its evening celebration. Surya is propitiated through the bonfire — fire being the earthly manifestation of the sun's energy.
Agni Deva (Fire God): Agni is one of the most important Vedic deities, invoked in every sacred ceremony as the intermediary between humans and gods. In the Rigveda, Agni is the divine priest who carries offerings from earth to the heavens. The Lohri bonfire is an Agni-worship ceremony — offerings tossed into the fire are believed to reach all devas through Agni's sacred mouth. The crackling fire at Lohri thus fulfills the ancient Vedic injunction of maintaining the sacred fire as an act of cosmic sustenance.
Dulla Bhatti (Folk Hero): While not a deity in the classical sense, Dulla Bhatti (Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti) is revered almost like a patron saint of Lohri in Punjab. He was a 16th-century Punjabi rebel hero during Akbar's reign who robbed the rich and helped the poor, and famously rescued girls from slave traders. His folk ballads are an essential part of Lohri worship.
How to celebrate Lohri 2026
1. Preparations During the Day: Clean the home, buy new clothes, and prepare sweets and snacks including til laddoos, gajak, rewari, and sarson da saag with makki di roti for the evening feast.
2. Collect Bonfire Materials: Gather dry wood, logs, cow dung cakes, and arrange them in a large pile at the designated community spot or courtyard. Children traditionally go door to door collecting wood and til-gur in the days before Lohri.
3. Gather the Community: After sunset, family members and neighbors gather around the bonfire site. Wear new or bright traditional clothes — salwar kameez, phulkari dupattas for women; kurta pajamas for men.
4. Light the Bonfire: The eldest or most respected member of the family or community lights the bonfire after a brief prayer to Agni and Surya. The fire is lit facing east.
5. Offer into the Fire: Circle the bonfire clockwise, tossing handfuls of til (sesame), gur (jaggery), popcorn (popcorn is said to represent the sun's rays), peanuts, and rewari into the flames while chanting 'Aadar aaye, dilather jaaye' (May honor come, may poverty go) or 'Sundar mundhariye ho!' from the Dulla Bhatti folk song.
6. Sing Dulla Bhatti Songs: Men and boys sing the traditional Lohri folk songs praising Dulla Bhatti. The most iconic begins: 'Sunder mundhariye ho! Tera kaun vichaara ho! Dulla Bhatti wala ho!'
7. Bhangra and Gidda: Men perform Bhangra (energetic folk dance with dhol drumbeats) and women perform Gidda (graceful folk dance with clapping and singing) around the bonfire.
8. Prasad Distribution: The offerings that have been ritually offered to the fire (til, gur, popcorn, peanuts, rewari, gajak) are then distributed as prasad to all present.
9. Feast Together: Families sit together and enjoy the traditional Lohri feast of sarson da saag, makki di roti, til rice, gajak, and kheer.
10. Prayers for the New Year: Before dispersing, families pray for good health, prosperous harvest, and happiness for the coming year. Newly married couples and families with newborns receive special blessings from elders.
Rituals & regional traditions
Spiritual benefits
Mantras & sacred chants
ॐ सूर्याय नमः
(Om Suryaya Namah)
Meaning: Salutations to Lord Surya, the radiant sun god, giver of light, life, warmth, and sustenance. This mantra is chanted while offering til and gur into the Lohri bonfire, honoring the sun as it begins its northward journey.
ॐ अग्नये नमः
(Om Agnaye Namah)
Meaning: Salutations to Lord Agni, the sacred fire deity, divine intermediary between humans and gods, purifier of all. This mantra is chanted while lighting the Lohri bonfire and making offerings into the fire.
सुंदर मुंढारिए हो! तेरा कौन विचारा हो!
दुल्ला भट्टी वाला हो! दुल्ले धी वियाही हो!
(Sundar Mundhariye Ho! Tera Kaun Vichara Ho! Dulla Bhatti Wala Ho! Dulle Dhi Viyahi Ho!)
Meaning: O beautiful Mundhari! Who thinks of you? Dulla Bhatti is here! Dulla's daughter is being married! This is the iconic opening of the Dulla Bhatti folk song, traditionally sung in a call-and-response style around the Lohri bonfire. It celebrates the legendary hero Dulla Bhatti who rescued poor girls and arranged their weddings with dignity.
Lohri 2026 — FAQs
Lohri 2026 is on January 13, the night before Makar Sankranti (January 14). It is a fixed date on the solar calendar and falls on January 13 every year.
Lohri marks the end of the winter solstice period and celebrates the sun's northward journey (Uttarayan). It is a harvest thanksgiving festival where farmers in Punjab and Haryana honor the sun (Surya) and fire (Agni) for sustaining the rabi crop through winter and pray for an abundant harvest.
Dulla Bhatti (Rai Abdullah Khan Bhatti) was a 16th-century Punjabi Robin Hood figure who robbed the Mughal rich and helped the poor. He famously rescued girls from slave traders and arranged their marriages with dignity. His folk ballads are sung around the Lohri bonfire as a tribute to his heroism.
Offerings tossed into the Lohri bonfire include til (sesame seeds), gur (jaggery), popcorn, peanuts (moongphali), rewari (sesame-jaggery sweets), and gajak. These are offered to Agni and Surya while circling the bonfire clockwise.
Traditional Lohri foods include sarson da saag (mustard greens curry) with makki di roti (cornmeal flatbread), fresh white butter, jaggery, til laddoos, gajak, rewari, and kheer — all foods associated with Punjab's winter harvest.
The first Lohri after a wedding is celebrated as a major milestone for the new couple. The bride wears bridal clothing, and a special bonfire is lit in the couple's honor with family and community gathered to bless the new marriage.
Lohri (January 13, evening) is a Punjabi folk festival celebrated with bonfires, songs, and community gathering, primarily in Punjab and Haryana. Makar Sankranti (January 14) is a pan-India Hindu solar festival marking the sun's entry into Capricorn, observed through kite flying, til-gur offerings, and holy dips in rivers. They are consecutive festivals sharing the solar transition theme.
Children go door to door in the days before Lohri singing traditional Lohri folk songs and collecting til, gur, and small amounts of money as Lohri offerings — a custom called Lohri Maangna. Refusing them is considered inauspicious. On Lohri night, children dance around the bonfire, eat prasad, and enjoy the community festivities.
