Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 13: Lohri the festival coinciding with seasonal change to say goodbye to Winter and welcome to Spring was celebrated with religious fervor and gaiety across Jammu region today.
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The functions regarding celebration of Lohri were held at different places where the people performed traditional Dogri dance and also lit the bonfire to say goodbye to Winter cold.
The ladies and children attired in different costumes also participated in the functions at different places and people were seen busy in exchanging Lohri greetings to each other. The members of Muslim community were also seen extending Lohri greetings to their Hindu brethren on the occasion.
Lohri brings a special joy for children as they in groups are seen hopping from one house to another house for gifts and singing folk Dogri songs. Though this tradition with the modernization is vanishing in urban areas with children restricting to take part in this practices, it is still prevalent in rural areas adding further charm to festival.
There was a hustle and bustle in markets in the Jammu city and other towns on the occasion as people were seen busy in purchasing ground nuts, Rewidis and pooja items to have the pooja in evening hours and relish the groundnuts, Rewidis etc. The hawkers had installed stalls in different markets and road sides all over the city which attracted large number of customers.
Sanatan Dharam Sabha (SDS) Jammu, organized an impressive function on the occasion of Lohri in which the students of three schools run by the organization participated. They performed traditional Dogri dance including Gida and also lit bonfire to keep the tradition alive. The speakers on the occasion highlighted the significance of Lohri and said the festival is linked to season as per Hindu tradition.
Bhaderwah which falls in Doda district a Winter Zone has it’s the old-style of celebrating Lohri, with kids hopping from house to house for gifts. ”We go from house to house for Lohri gifts. We get money and gifts from everybody”, said a group of children taking Lohri gifts from people. Whether it’s town areas of Bhaderwah or villages , the festivities around Lohri leave no soul untouched. The people were also seen thronging markets for purchasing the pooja items for evening rituals, besides buying peanuts, Rawries, popcorns and other munchies relished on the day. Bhaderwah is also immersed in the colours of Lohri.
This year the Winter has been particularly harsh. In the evening people in different localities lit bonfire which signifies spark of life and offered special prayers for prosperity in life. To this bonfire, puffed rice, popcorns and other munches were offered to say good bye to cold weather. People hope the festival would mark an end to that.
According to the Hindu calendar, Lohri falls in mid-January. The Earth, farthest from the Sun at this point of time, starts its journey towards the Sun, thus ending the coldest month of the year, Paush, and announcing the start of the month of Magh and the auspicious period of Uttarayan. According to the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna manifests himself in his full magnificence during this time. The Hindus ‘nullify’ their sins by bathing in the Ganges. It is celebrated on the 13th of January during the month of Paush or Magh, a day before Makar Sankranti.
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