Lohri

The Festival

Lohri falls on January 13th, the night before Maghi, and marks the astronomical turning point when winter begins to recede and days start getting longer. In Punjab's agricultural calendar, this is the coldest night — and building a bonfire to defeat the cold is both practical and symbolic.

Families and neighbourhoods gather around a bonfire in the evening. Sesame seeds (til), peanuts (moongphali), popcorn (phulliyan), and rewri (sweets made from sesame and jaggery) are thrown into the flames as offerings. The fire crackles, sparks fly upward, and the gathering begins to sing.

The Song of Dulla Bhatti

The most iconic Lohri song is "Sunder Mundariye," which tells the story of Dulla Bhatti — a legendary Punjabi folk hero from the Mughal era. Dulla Bhatti (Abdullah Bhatti) was a rebel who rescued girls being kidnapped and forcibly sent to the Mughal court. He arranged their marriages and gave them dowries from his own plunder of Mughal caravans.

The song is sung in chorus, door to door in some traditions, with each verse ending in "Ho!" The lyrics mention Sundri and Mundri — two girls Dulla Bhatti rescued — and the offering of a sack of sugar as dowry. The song is so embedded in Lohri that most Punjabis can sing it from memory, even if they don't fully know the backstory.

Special Significance

Lohri holds particular significance for two groups: newborn babies and newlyweds. If a child has been born in the past year, or if a couple has recently married, their "first Lohri" is celebrated with extra enthusiasm — gifts, sweets, new clothes, and a larger bonfire. The family of the new mother or bride often sends special gifts.

In the diaspora, Lohri has been adapted — bonfires in backyards in Canada and the UK, community Lohri events at gurdwaras and Punjabi cultural centres, and virtual celebrations connecting families across time zones. The bonfire might be smaller, but the songs remain the same.

Lohri Vocabulary

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