Traditioanlly, Lohri Festival celebrates the onset of the harvest season in Punjab. People celebrate on this day to offer thanks to god for the precious crops before they begin harvesting them. It is also believed that Lohri night is the longest night of the year. This belief has scientific backing as well. It is known as the winter solstice. Closer home, according to the lunar calendar, Lohri Festival also marks the end of the coldest month of the year as the earth now starts to turn towards the sun. Rituals and Traditions around Lohri The traditions around the festival are appropriate and soulful. You build a bonfire, preferably a community bonfire as everyone gathers around it. This is the cynosure of this festival. The bonfire symbolizes Agni, the God of Fire. People warm up to the sparkling flames, sing songs and throw in foods like gajak,chikki,puffed rice, popcorn , rewri, sesame seeds, jaggery, peanuts and sugarcane to pay homage to your roots, in a matter of speaking. These offerings are fed to the fire to appease the gods and to ask them to bless everybody with abundance and prosperity. What to Eat on Lohri Lohri celebrates the harvest of rabi crops, those which are sown in the winter. It thus follows that winter foods like sarson (mustard leaves), sesame, whole wheat and spinach are an integral part of the festival. As part of the festivities, dinner is served after the bonfire ritual. The dinner typically includes 'Sarson ka Saag and Makki ki Roti', a Punjabi winter treat loved everywhere in the world. Til and rorhi (jaggery) are eaten as traditional festive foods. The words til and rorhi together make 'tilorhi', which eventually got rechristened to Lohri. These belly-warming foods are known to cleanse our bodies and boost them with renewed vigour as we step into a seasonal change. According to folklore, the flames of the fire are known to carry messages to the sun which is why the day after Lohri is warm and sunny bringing an end to gloomy, winter days. The following day is celebrated as Makar Sankranti to mark the beginning of bright days ahead. With winter almost giving North India a miss this year, we still welcome Lohri with open arms. This sputtering bonfire celebration is all about bonhomie and togetherness. A day to warm your hands, and your hearts.