Punjabi bonfire night
Lohri 2027
The Punjabi winter festival on the eve of Makar Sankranti: a bonfire, popcorn, rewri and gajak thrown into it, bhangra and gidda round it, and a first Lohri for a new baby or a new bride.
- Lohri 2026
- Tuesday, 13 January 2026
- Lohri 2027
- Thursday, 14 January 2027
Lohri near you
- No Lohri events posted in Canada yet — the page has the big celebrations and their dates.
Lohri events near you
What Lohri is
Lohri marks the end of the darkest days of winter and the start of the harvest season in Punjab, on the last night of the month of Poh. Families gather round a bonfire after sunset, throw sesame, jaggery, popcorn and peanuts into it, sing Sundar Mundriye — the song of Dulla Bhatti — and eat sarson da saag with makki di roti. A family’s first Lohri after a wedding or a birth is the big one, with the whole neighbourhood invited.
Abroad it is the gurdwara’s and the banquet hall’s night: Lohri melas with a bonfire, bhangra, gidda and dhol in Southall, Brampton, Surrey and Melbourne’s west, and Lohri parties in every city with a Punjabi community. It falls the evening before Makar Sankranti and Pongal, so the same weekend is kept by the whole of north and south India.
Lohri in Canada
Brampton, Mississauga, Surrey, Calgary and Edmonton — the largest Punjabi communities outside India — hold Lohri melas and bonfire nights in the week around 13 January, with radio-station shows and bhangra concerts.
Lohri in the UK
Southall, Slough, Birmingham, Leicester and Wolverhampton hold Lohri melas and bonfire nights, the gurdwaras keep a diwan, and the banquet halls fill with first-Lohri parties.
If it is your first one abroad
- Bring rewri, gajak and popcorn for the fire; the host provides the saag and the roti.
- A first Lohri is an invitation you accept: the family of the new baby or the new bride hosts, and the gift is cash in an envelope.
Lohri is better with people near you
Free, in every country. Everything below is ranked by how far it is from you.
- Groups near youJoin the Indian community groups in your city — chat, plans and people who get it.
- Events near youEvery festival, garba night and meetup, ranked by distance, with RSVP and reminders.
- Buy and sellSarees, kurtas, furniture, kitchen things — from people a few streets away.
- Rent near youRooms and flats from the community, with the person behind the listing one tap away.
Questions people ask
- When is Lohri in 2027?
- Thursday 14 January 2027, the evening before Makar Sankranti. In 2026 it was Tuesday 13 January.
Other festivals
Organising something?
Post it from the app under Events, wherever you are. It is free, a moderator checks it, and it appears here and to every member nearby. Running several a year? Email hello@namaste.community for a listing invite.