Sadly, the image attached to this thread is from the New York Times and was titled the Image of the Day, January 13, 2012. A turbaned Sikh man, to quote:..."prays as he takes a ritualistic circle around a bonfire during the Lohri festival in Amritsar, Punjab. Singing and dancing around a bonfire is an intrinsic part of Lohri, the festival that marks the beginning of the harvest season and the end of winter in north India."
Lohri has it roots in Punjab and the festival is grounded in Punjab culture. There are the origins of its celebration among some Sikhs. But Lohri is not a Sikh festival. Let's read what it is about.
http://religion.answers.wikia.com/wi...elebrate_lohri Article begins.
Quote:
Lohri marks the end of winter on the last day of Paush, and beginning of Magha (around January 13 and 14) names of Hindi months. Lohri, fundamentally an agricultural festival, is connected with merry-making. There’s belief that worshipping the sun, the energy giver, leads to harmony, prosperity and peace.
Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to fire and the sun god. Fire is associated with concepts of life and health by the Hindu religion. It is the representative of the sun, and is thus related, on the one hand with rays of light, and on the other with gold. It is the time when the sun transits the zodiac sign Makar (Capricorn), and moves towards the north. The new configuration lessens the ferocity of winter, and brings warmth to earth. It is to ward off the bitter chill of the month of January that people light bonfires, dance around it in a mood of bonhomie and celebrate Lohri.
That is why the Lohri fire gets sanctified and is venerated like a deity. On this occasion, people offer peanuts, popcorn and sweets made of til — chirva, gajak and revri — to propitiate fire as a symbol of the sun god.
Interestingly, though not strangely, the same festival in Tamil Nadu is known as Pongal, in Gujarat and Bengal as Makar Sankranti, and in Assam as Magha Bihu.
There are some interesting socio-cultural and folk-legends connected with Lohri. According to the cultural history of Punjab, Bhatti, a Rajput tribe during the reign of Akbar, inhabited parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat (now in Pakistan). Dulla Bhatti, Raja of Pindi Bhattian, was put to death by the Mughal king for revolting against him. The tribal mirasis (street singers) trace the history of the tribe and interestingly claim Maharaja Ranjit Singh as one of its scions.
This is particularly a happy occasion for couples who for the first time celebrated Lohri after their marriage and also the first Lohri of the son born in a family. Children visit homes in the neighbourhood and sing songs.
Ceremonies that go with the festival of Lohri usually comprise making a small image of the Lohri goddess with gobar (cattle dung), decorating it, kindling a fire beneath it and chanting its praises. The final ceremony is to light a large bonfire at sunset, toss sesame seeds, gur (jaggery), sugar-candy and revries in it, sit round it, sing, dance till the fire dies out. People take dying embers of the fire to their homes.
In Punjabi village homes, fire is kept going round the clock by use of cow-dung cakes. The men folk of the villages perform bhangra (an energetic Punjabi dance) on this day that is also associated with the ripening of crops. The dance manifests the vigour and vitality and exuberance of the people, in anticipation of money coming in after the cutting of a good harvest. During Lohri celebration, the drum plays a very important part. It provides the basic accompaniment to most of folk music.
Now lets see some basics of Sikhism. Starting with the meaning of mool mantra (the basic sikh principle): Ik Onkar ,Satnam, Karta Purukh, Nirbhau, Nirvair, Akal Murat, Ajooni Sabhan(g), Gurprasad " God is one .. Truth is his name ... He is the creator ...Fearless ...Without enmity .... the Immortal ...Self illuminated... and is obtainable by the grace of Guru. Now a main focus of sikh teachings is ONENESS of God. That is God is one, In English he/she is called as God, in Hindi Bhagwaan, by Muslims as Allah and by Sikhs as Waheguru. We find countless hymns in Guru Granth sahib emphasizing this oneness of God. A result that Sikhs believe in one god, a Sikh does not believe in so-called gods: rain god, sun god, river god, etc. as are common in Hinduism and some other religions and cultures .
....
Now in the light of above there is no way we can connect Sikhism and celebration of Lohri .
Sikhs do not worship fire. Unfortunately, many misguided sikhs do worship fire or Lohri because of its strong links to Punjabi culture.
Now this brings us to another question. Which is summed wonderfully “I am a Sikh born and raised in England who is sick and tired of the conflict of tradition and religion. If our religion was formed to move away from Hindu beliefs, then why are we still living and performing their traditions and rituals????” We need to understand that there are certain customs prevalent in Punjab and Punjabi culture which attack the very roots of Sikhism. Sikhs cannot afford to glorify those traditions in name of Punjabi culture. Now worshipping of fire God is against the basic Sikh concept of one God; so Lohri by no means should be celebrated in Sikh families. More over the way of its celebration, wherein food items are thrown into the burning fire is also reminiscent, of the yagna being done by Hindu saints for pleasing fire god. The reason for overwhelming acceptance of Lohri in Sikh families can be attributed to the times when Sikhs were forced to live in forests owing to religious persecution by Mughals/Muslim rulers when Hindu and non-Sikh practices crept into gurudwras, as gurdwaras were being looked after by Mahants or non-Sikhs.
Negative Social effect of Lohri celebration: With the passage of time people started celebrating the “first Lohri “ of a couple and “first Lohri of a new born “Now when people celebrate first Lohri of couple it is an occasion to extract gifts from the family of bride. And when it is celebrated for new born child, it is mostly celebrated for male child though some people have started celebrating it for female child too. And this again is made into an occasion to extract gifts from the family of the mother of new born. This social aspect was given for your info. Irrespective and inspite of these effects, Sikh families should not celebrate the festival of lohri as it does not go along with teachings of Sikh gurus .
Article ends
Now I have read on many Sikh sites, including SPN, that hardliners should lighten up and go with the flow. Lohri after all is a great way to come together now that the dreary and barren time of winter comes to a close. We can rejoice through dance and song and gathering together. Soon the sun, and its fires, will warm the earth, our chilled bones, and our souls. Soon these dark moments, when the sun has waned, with its dark cold days, will come to an end. We can even sweeten things, and make our celebrations seem more Sikh, by quoting pangatees from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji that celebrate the elements, sky, the sun, the weather, nature, all of this supposedly compatible with those things that are celebrated during Lohri. These too will make Lohri seem more in tune with Sikhi. So some say.
What are we talking about? When we make a show of making sacrifices to agni, do we also think that such an appeal to the divine fire will cause the earth to quicken, as the embryo quickens in the womb? Those things that are celebrated during Lohri revolve around a fervent wish that nature must eventually revive, and that the fertility of fields, animals and mankind will not fail in the coming year. That all will survive the barrenness of winter. To that end sacrifice to agni is also a prayer for sons.
Or are we just looking for an excuse to have a party? Think again! Someone here at SPN once asked, "Is the Quom in a Coma?" Celebrating Lohri, do we not give our tacit permission to SGPC to celebrate, even spend the wealth of the panth, at Kumbh Mela? If we are Sikhs, we cannot have it both ways.
Attachments - Sikh Philosophy Network
More...
Lohri has it roots in Punjab and the festival is grounded in Punjab culture. There are the origins of its celebration among some Sikhs. But Lohri is not a Sikh festival. Let's read what it is about.
http://religion.answers.wikia.com/wi...elebrate_lohri Article begins.
Quote:
Lohri marks the end of winter on the last day of Paush, and beginning of Magha (around January 13 and 14) names of Hindi months. Lohri, fundamentally an agricultural festival, is connected with merry-making. There’s belief that worshipping the sun, the energy giver, leads to harmony, prosperity and peace.
Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to fire and the sun god. Fire is associated with concepts of life and health by the Hindu religion. It is the representative of the sun, and is thus related, on the one hand with rays of light, and on the other with gold. It is the time when the sun transits the zodiac sign Makar (Capricorn), and moves towards the north. The new configuration lessens the ferocity of winter, and brings warmth to earth. It is to ward off the bitter chill of the month of January that people light bonfires, dance around it in a mood of bonhomie and celebrate Lohri.
That is why the Lohri fire gets sanctified and is venerated like a deity. On this occasion, people offer peanuts, popcorn and sweets made of til — chirva, gajak and revri — to propitiate fire as a symbol of the sun god.
Interestingly, though not strangely, the same festival in Tamil Nadu is known as Pongal, in Gujarat and Bengal as Makar Sankranti, and in Assam as Magha Bihu.
There are some interesting socio-cultural and folk-legends connected with Lohri. According to the cultural history of Punjab, Bhatti, a Rajput tribe during the reign of Akbar, inhabited parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat (now in Pakistan). Dulla Bhatti, Raja of Pindi Bhattian, was put to death by the Mughal king for revolting against him. The tribal mirasis (street singers) trace the history of the tribe and interestingly claim Maharaja Ranjit Singh as one of its scions.
This is particularly a happy occasion for couples who for the first time celebrated Lohri after their marriage and also the first Lohri of the son born in a family. Children visit homes in the neighbourhood and sing songs.
Ceremonies that go with the festival of Lohri usually comprise making a small image of the Lohri goddess with gobar (cattle dung), decorating it, kindling a fire beneath it and chanting its praises. The final ceremony is to light a large bonfire at sunset, toss sesame seeds, gur (jaggery), sugar-candy and revries in it, sit round it, sing, dance till the fire dies out. People take dying embers of the fire to their homes.
In Punjabi village homes, fire is kept going round the clock by use of cow-dung cakes. The men folk of the villages perform bhangra (an energetic Punjabi dance) on this day that is also associated with the ripening of crops. The dance manifests the vigour and vitality and exuberance of the people, in anticipation of money coming in after the cutting of a good harvest. During Lohri celebration, the drum plays a very important part. It provides the basic accompaniment to most of folk music.
Now lets see some basics of Sikhism. Starting with the meaning of mool mantra (the basic sikh principle): Ik Onkar ,Satnam, Karta Purukh, Nirbhau, Nirvair, Akal Murat, Ajooni Sabhan(g), Gurprasad " God is one .. Truth is his name ... He is the creator ...Fearless ...Without enmity .... the Immortal ...Self illuminated... and is obtainable by the grace of Guru. Now a main focus of sikh teachings is ONENESS of God. That is God is one, In English he/she is called as God, in Hindi Bhagwaan, by Muslims as Allah and by Sikhs as Waheguru. We find countless hymns in Guru Granth sahib emphasizing this oneness of God. A result that Sikhs believe in one god, a Sikh does not believe in so-called gods: rain god, sun god, river god, etc. as are common in Hinduism and some other religions and cultures .
....
Now in the light of above there is no way we can connect Sikhism and celebration of Lohri .
Sikhs do not worship fire. Unfortunately, many misguided sikhs do worship fire or Lohri because of its strong links to Punjabi culture.
Now this brings us to another question. Which is summed wonderfully “I am a Sikh born and raised in England who is sick and tired of the conflict of tradition and religion. If our religion was formed to move away from Hindu beliefs, then why are we still living and performing their traditions and rituals????” We need to understand that there are certain customs prevalent in Punjab and Punjabi culture which attack the very roots of Sikhism. Sikhs cannot afford to glorify those traditions in name of Punjabi culture. Now worshipping of fire God is against the basic Sikh concept of one God; so Lohri by no means should be celebrated in Sikh families. More over the way of its celebration, wherein food items are thrown into the burning fire is also reminiscent, of the yagna being done by Hindu saints for pleasing fire god. The reason for overwhelming acceptance of Lohri in Sikh families can be attributed to the times when Sikhs were forced to live in forests owing to religious persecution by Mughals/Muslim rulers when Hindu and non-Sikh practices crept into gurudwras, as gurdwaras were being looked after by Mahants or non-Sikhs.
Negative Social effect of Lohri celebration: With the passage of time people started celebrating the “first Lohri “ of a couple and “first Lohri of a new born “Now when people celebrate first Lohri of couple it is an occasion to extract gifts from the family of bride. And when it is celebrated for new born child, it is mostly celebrated for male child though some people have started celebrating it for female child too. And this again is made into an occasion to extract gifts from the family of the mother of new born. This social aspect was given for your info. Irrespective and inspite of these effects, Sikh families should not celebrate the festival of lohri as it does not go along with teachings of Sikh gurus .
Article ends
Now I have read on many Sikh sites, including SPN, that hardliners should lighten up and go with the flow. Lohri after all is a great way to come together now that the dreary and barren time of winter comes to a close. We can rejoice through dance and song and gathering together. Soon the sun, and its fires, will warm the earth, our chilled bones, and our souls. Soon these dark moments, when the sun has waned, with its dark cold days, will come to an end. We can even sweeten things, and make our celebrations seem more Sikh, by quoting pangatees from Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji that celebrate the elements, sky, the sun, the weather, nature, all of this supposedly compatible with those things that are celebrated during Lohri. These too will make Lohri seem more in tune with Sikhi. So some say.
What are we talking about? When we make a show of making sacrifices to agni, do we also think that such an appeal to the divine fire will cause the earth to quicken, as the embryo quickens in the womb? Those things that are celebrated during Lohri revolve around a fervent wish that nature must eventually revive, and that the fertility of fields, animals and mankind will not fail in the coming year. That all will survive the barrenness of winter. To that end sacrifice to agni is also a prayer for sons.
Or are we just looking for an excuse to have a party? Think again! Someone here at SPN once asked, "Is the Quom in a Coma?" Celebrating Lohri, do we not give our tacit permission to SGPC to celebrate, even spend the wealth of the panth, at Kumbh Mela? If we are Sikhs, we cannot have it both ways.
Attachments - Sikh Philosophy Network
More...