Festival · Agni and Surya
Lohri
The bonfire festival of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu on the eve of Makar Sankranti, marking the end of winter and the rabi harvest. Families circle the fire and offer it sesame, jaggery and popcorn.
- Lohri 2027
- Thursday 14 January 2027
- New Delhi
For New Delhi, Thursday 14 January 2027
- Sunrise
- 7:15 am
- Sunset
- 5:45 pm
- Moonrise
- 10:51 am
- Moonset
- 11:33 pm
Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.
Full panchang for this day →How it is kept
Customs vary by region and family
- Light a bonfire at dusk and walk around it
- Offer til, gur, rewari and popcorn to the fire
- Celebrate a bride’s or a baby’s first Lohri
What it remembers
Lohri is the winter bonfire festival of Punjab, kept on the night before Makar Sankranti, on 13 or 14 January. It is kept in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu, by Hindus and Sikhs alike. At sunset a fire is lit in the street or the village square. People walk round it and throw in sesame, jaggery, rewari, peanuts and popcorn, give thanks for the harvest, and sing and dance late into the cold night.
Keeping Lohri
Lohri has no fixed puja. Its rites are the fire, the offerings and the songs, kept with family and neighbours. Customs differ from village to village and family to family; follow your own where it differs.
- In the days before, children and young people go from house to house singing Lohri songs and collecting wood for the fire. Give them sweets or a little money: sending them away empty-handed is held to be unlucky.
- Make or buy the season’s sweets: til and gur, rewari, gajak, peanuts and popcorn.
- At sunset, light the bonfire in the courtyard, the street or the village square, where everyone can gather.
- Walk round the fire and throw in sesame, jaggery, rewari, peanuts and popcorn, with a prayer for a good harvest and a good year.
- Share the rest of the offerings round the fire as prasad.
- Sing the Lohri songs, Sundar Mundriye among them, and dance bhangra and giddha to the dhol.
- Eat sarson da saag with makki di roti, and finish with gur and sesame sweets.
- If it is the first Lohri of a bride or a baby, host the family and neighbours at your fire, and give sweets to all who come.
What you need
- Wood for the bonfire
- Til (sesame) and gur (jaggery)
- Rewari, gajak, peanuts and popcorn
- Mustard greens and maize flour for sarson da saag and makki di roti
- Sweets and gifts for a first Lohri
Across India
Punjab
The heart of Lohri. Bonfires burn in every street and village square, children sing for sweets at the doors, and the night ends with bhangra and giddha round the fire.
Muktsar, Punjab
The next day is Maghi. Sikhs gather at Muktsar Sahib for the Maghi fair, in memory of the Forty Liberated Ones, the Chali Mukte, who fell fighting for Guru Gobind Singh, and bathe in the sacred pool there.
Jammu
Children make the chajja, a frame shaped like a peacock, and carry it from house to house. They wear garlands of peanuts, dried fruit and sweets, and dance the Hiran dance.
Haryana and Himachal
Lohri is kept here too, with the bonfire, the songs and the sweets of sesame and jaggery.
Sindhi families
Many Sindhi families keep the same winter night as Lal Loi, with a bonfire, songs and dancing.
When it falls
The eve of Makar Sankranti: the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) in the sidereal zodiac, or the day after when it enters after sunset.
These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.
Lohri in the coming years
New Delhi, India time
- 2027Thursday 14 January 2027
- 2028Friday 14 January 2028
Questions
When is Lohri in 2027?
Thursday 14 January 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.
When does Lohri fall?
The eve of Makar Sankranti: the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) in the sidereal zodiac, or the day after when it enters after sunset.
How is Lohri kept?
Families light a bonfire at dusk and walk around it, offer til, gur, rewari and popcorn to the fire and celebrate a bride’s or a baby’s first Lohri. Customs vary by region and family.
Who is honoured on Lohri?
Agni and Surya. The bonfire festival of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu on the eve of Makar Sankranti, marking the end of winter and the rabi harvest. Families circle the fire and offer it sesame, jaggery and popcorn.
Why is Lohri celebrated?
Lohri gives thanks for the harvest and marks the end of the coldest days of winter, as the Sun turns north. It is also the night of Dulla Bhatti’s story, and a night to welcome a new bride or a new baby into the family.
Who was Dulla Bhatti?
In Punjabi folk tradition, Dulla Bhatti was a rebel of Akbar’s time, a Robin Hood of Punjab, who saved girls from being sold and saw them safely married. The song Sundar Mundriye, sung at every Lohri fire, tells how he cared for the sisters Sundari and Mundari.
Why is the first Lohri of a bride or a baby special?
Lohri is a festival of new life and plenty, so the first Lohri after a wedding or a birth is a great day for the family. The bride or the mother wears new clothes, relatives and neighbours bring gifts, and sweets are given to everyone at the fire. Many families now keep it for a baby girl just as they would for a boy.
Is Lohri a Hindu or a Sikh festival?
Both. Lohri is a festival of Punjab, and Hindus and Sikhs keep it together, round the same fires, with the same songs and sweets. It is kept across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu.
Is Lohri the same as Makar Sankranti?
No, but they belong together. Lohri is the night before Makar Sankranti, the day the Sun enters Makara. In Punjab that next day is called Maghi. In 2027, for example, Lohri falls on Thursday 14 January and Makar Sankranti on Friday 15 January.