Why is Lohri festival (essay) celebrated, importance of history

The festival of Lohri is celebrated with great pomp in North India, especially in the states of Punjab and Haryana, so this festival has got special importance. According to the Hindu calendar, this festivalLohri) is celebrated only a day before Makar Sankranti. In this way Lohri is celebrated on the eve of Makar Sankranti. On this evening, the family members light a fire together with the people around.

While worshiping the Lohri fire, they consume winter foods like rewari, gajjak, maize, peanuts and lava and also dedicate to the fire. This festival gives the message of eating together and sharing happiness. Every year begins with celebrating the festival of Lohri. Through this article, you will be given information about the reason, way of celebrating Lohri festival and Lohri Mata.

Festival of Lohri (Essay)

Importance of Lohri

Lohri is called the main festival of Punjabis. Apart from this, it is also a major festival of the residents of North India. Many stories are famous about Lohri festival. From the day of Lohri, the work of harvesting in the fields starts in Punjab. After this the sowing of new crop also starts. There is a lot of happiness among the farmers regarding this, in a way it is called the new year of the farmers. Along with this, spiritual stories are also associated with Lohri. In any family where someone has got newly married or a child has been born, this festival becomes of special importance for them.

History of celebrating Lohri

The history of celebrating Lohri festival is very old. It is the beginning of a new year, the beginning of the spring season and also marks the departure of the winter season. It is also said that the night of Lohri is the longest night in the year and after that the nights gradually get shorter and the days get longer.

The story of Sati’s sacrifice

Mythology describes that this festival is also celebrated as a symbol to remember the sacrifice of Sati. The story is that Prajapati Daksha insulted Mahadev Shiva, the husband of his daughter Sati. In this way, saddened by the insult of not including her husband in the yajna, Sati had sacrificed her life by jumping into the fire. In the memory of his sacrifice, the festival of Lohri is celebrated as repentance. In this way, the practice of honorably giving food and other gifts to the married girl of the house has started by inviting them for a meal at their home. Also distributes makeup items to women.

Story of Dulha Bhatti and Sundari-Mundri

According to another legend, during the time of King Akbar, a groom named Bhatti used to be a dacoit. The specialty of this dacoit was that after stealing from the houses of the rich, he used to distribute the stolen money among the poor and needy. He was considered as a hero among the poor and destitute people. He also used to rescue girls who were taken away from their homes by strangers. At that time Dulha Bhatti was the Sardar of the princely state of Punjab. There was a place named Sandalbar which is currently a part of Pakistan. Innocent girls were often auctioned there. Dulha Bhatti saved many good Hindu girls and got them married to good people and made all the arrangements for their marriage himself.

Similarly, two orphan girls named Sundari and Mundari were being gifted by their uncle to a king without marriage. When the bridegroom Bhatti came to know about this, he immediately went to save those girls. Bhatti showed immense courage and rescued the girls. These girls and the celebrated boys were taken to the forest and got married by setting them on fire. Bhatti himself had donated a girl in the marriage of both of them when no acquaintance was near. In this way, Dulha Bhatti, despite being a dacoit food, also did the work of the father of orphan girls. After this, when there was no means of marriage in the forest, Bhatti bid farewell to both of them by giving them sugar and putting a lion in their bag.

Many days before the arrival of Lohri, youth and children sing songs of Lohri. Fifteen days before, this song is started singing, which goes from house to house. In these songs, brave martyrs are remembered, in which the names of Dulla Bhatti are specially taken.

Story of Lohri Mata

The story of Lohri Mata is related to Narwar Fort which is a historical fort with many legends. One of these stories is also the story of Lohri Mata. In today’s time, this story is related to Narwar town of Shivpuri district, which is 60 km away from Gwalior. The history of Narwar is about 200 years old. At this time the king here was Nal. In the 19th century Narwar was made his capital in Raja Nal. The fort of Narwar was at a height of 1600 feet from the sea and 5 feet from the ground and this fort was situated in an area of ​​about 7 km. The Lohri Mata Hai temple, located in the part of the Narwar fort, was of special importance. Due to her fame, many devotees used to come for the darshan and blessings of the mother.

Lohri Mata has got a lot of recognition in North and Central India. Nal Raja had a bad habit of gambling because of which he lost all the wealth of his district. After this Nala re-conquered the king’s son Narvar and the royal Naram Maru was called a good king. This is where the temple of Mata Lohri is built. The story is that the mother did not belong to their community, but due to her mastery in Tantrik Vidya, the mother did the impossible task of walking on the thread. The mother showed this feat to the king in a gathering. Seeing his work, the king’s tap minister cut the thread. For this reason, the mother died untimely by falling. At the same time, due to the curse of the mother, the Narwar fort was transformed into a ruin.

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memory of kabir’s wife

Apart from this, according to another folk tale, the people of Bhakti period also celebrate the festival of Lohri in the memory of Loi, the wife of the famous saint Kabir. For this reason some people call it as ‘loi’.

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