Lohri 2027: 14 January

At a glance

Lohri

Evening of Thursday, 14 January 2027 (Drik Panchang; Prokerala)

Sunset

New Delhi 5:45 PM, Amritsar 5:48 PM, Chandigarh 5:43 PM

Next day

Makar Sankranti and Maghi, Friday 15 January

Where

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu

Main custom

The evening bonfire, with sesame, jaggery, rewri, peanuts and popcorn offered into it

Special

The first Lohri of newly-weds and of a newborn

Lohri: 13 or 14 January?

Lohri is kept on the night before Makar Sankranti (Maghi in Punjab). Drik Panchang gives Lohri on Thursday 14 January in 2027, because Makar Sankranti is on 15 January, and Prokerala’s table also has Lohri 2027 on 14 January. Some calendars and articles give Lohri as 13 January every year: according to Wikipedia, in the late 19th century Lohri fell around 11 January and now usually on 13 or 14 January, because the Sankranti day slowly moves later. In 2023 too, when the Sankranti fell on the night of 14 January, Drik gave Lohri on 14 January. Also check the day kept by your gurdwara or neighbourhood.

The bonfire and the offerings

After sunset a bonfire is lit in the courtyard or the neighbourhood. People walk round it and throw sesame, jaggery, sugar candy, rewri, peanuts and popcorn into it; the same things are shared as prasad. Gajak, sesame laddoos and tilcholi (jaggery, sesame and puffed rice) are the sweets of the day, and dinner is sarson ka saag with makki ki roti. There is bhangra and giddha to the dhol. These are folk customs.

The first Lohri

In a home where there was a wedding or a birth during the year, Lohri is kept with more festivity: relatives and neighbours gather and sweets are shared. Wikipedia cites a 1907 account of the custom of giving copper coins and cowries to the poor at the first Lohri after a birth.

Songs from door to door

Before Lohri, groups of children go from house to house singing Lohri songs and are given sweets, jaggery, peanuts or money; sending them away empty-handed is thought unlucky. What is collected is shared by the fire at night.

Dulla Bhatti: a folk tale

Many Lohri songs name Dulla Bhatti. According to the folk tale he was a landholder in Punjab in Akbar’s time who stood against Mughal rule and rescued girls who were being sold, arranging their marriages; two of the girls he saved, Sundri and Mundri, are part of Punjabi folk songs. It is a folk tale; there is no firm history of when and how Lohri began (Prokerala; Wikipedia).

Maghi: the next day

The day after Lohri, on Makar Sankranti, Punjab keeps Maghi. At Sri Muktsar Sahib the Maghi fair is held in memory of the Forty Liberated Ones (Chali Mukte). In North India the punya kaal for the bath and charity is on this day; the times by city are on the Makar Sankranti page.

How to perform the puja

1. Step 1

   Preparation

   During the day gather wood, cow-dung cakes, sesame, jaggery, rewri, peanuts and popcorn.

2. Step 2

   Bonfire after sunset

   Light the bonfire in an open, safe place; keep water or sand nearby, and keep children away from the fire.

3. Step 3

   Walking round and offering

   Walk round the fire with the family and offer sesame, jaggery, rewri and peanuts into it (custom).

4. Step 4

   Prasad and dinner

   Share the same things as prasad, sing, and eat sarson ka saag with makki ki roti.

Frequently asked questions