Lohri festival is also a tribute to the robin-hood of Punjab, Dulla Bhatti who used to save the Punjabi girls from being sold in the slave market.
The new financial year also starts after the day of Lohri, which is known as Maghi. It actually marks the end of the winter season and signals the beginning of the new farming season.
Many fairs or ‘melas’ are organized on the occasion of Lohri especially in Punjab and Haryana which are visited by local as well as foreign tourists also.
In the evening of the Lohri, people gather around the bonfire and throw the harvested seeds, grains into the fire, and chant “aadar aye dilather jaye” which means peace and prosperity to all.
In many of the houses Lohri marks the new beginning, the first Lohri of a newly-wed bride celebrated with her husband’s family is important and if there is new childbirth in the house then Lohri is celebrated at a grand scale.