DigiNepal · festivals
Lohri (ਲੋਹੜੀ (Punjabi), लोहड़ी (Hindi)). Region: India (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi), Pakistan (Punjab), diaspora. Tradition: Punjabi, Sikh and Hindu. Calendar: Solar (eve of Makar Sankranti). Dates: Punjab 2026: Tuesday 13 January 2026 [computed]; Punjab 2027: Thursday 14 January 2027 [computed]; Punjab 2028: Friday 14 January 2028 [computed]. History and significance: Lohri is a Punjabi winter festival held on the night before Makar Sankranti, marking the end of the coldest days and the sugarcane harvest. Families light a bonfire and circle it, offering sesame, jaggery, popcorn and peanuts into the flames. Folk songs recall Dulla Bhatti, a Robin Hood like figure of Mughal era Punjab. It is especially celebrated for newborns and newlyweds. Key rituals and foods: Bonfire, bhangra and giddha dances, folk songs; foods include rewri, gajak, til, popcorn, sarson da saag and makki di roti. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.