PM Modi greets people on occasion of Lohri

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people on the occasion of Lohri on Friday.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Have a wonderful Lohri! May this festival deepen the spirit of harmony in our society. May there be happiness all around."

The Punjabi festival of Lohri falls in the chilly month of January. It is celebrated in many Indian states. The people of Mathura celebrated this occasion with full pomp and show. People gathered with their family and friends for the Lohri festivities organized by the local association. They were seen singing, dancing and enjoying games.

Talking to ANI, one of the people celebrating the festival at the event said, "Lohri is being celebrated with much favour in Mela ground in Mathura. We all are enjoying this festival with bhangra and giddha. Here mimicry and other artists are also performing."

"After a gap of two years, the festival is being celebrated with such grandeur," said another person.

Lohri, the harvest festival celebrated on January 13 every year, marks the end of winter and the time to harvest rabi crops.

As the festival is around the corner, enthusiastic people across the country are gearing up to light the bonfire, whirl around it singing Punjabi folk songs, and pop sesame seeds, popcorn, jaggery, and rewaris. But, before you wish a happy Lohri to your close ones, here are the significant and interesting facts about the joyous festival.

The occasion holds excellent significance among farmers, as they thank the almighty for a bountiful harvest of crops and forth on the event. Traditionally, Lohri is also called 'Lohi' in Punjabi.

In houses that have recently had a marriage or childbirth, the celebrations of the festival are observed at a grand scale, otherwise, people usually have private Lohri celebrations, in their houses.

The major part of the festival is its folk songs. While whirling around the bonfire ladies perform 'gidda' and sing the 'Sundar Mundariye' song which has words to express gratitude to 'Dulla Bhatti.' The tale behind the main song is known by very few