Lal Loi is the Sindhi name for the festival of

Lohri ''Lohri'' is a popular winter Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India. The significance and legends about the Lohri festival are many and these link the festival to the Punjab region. It is believed by many that the festiva ...

. Prior to the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947, Lal Loi was celebrated in some parts of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. On the day of Lal Loi children brought wood sticks from their grand parents and aunties and lit a fire burning the sticks in the night with people enjoying, dancing and playing around the fire.

Sindhis Sindhis ( sd, سنڌي Perso-Arabic: सिन्धी Devanagari; ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the province of Sindh in Pakistan. After the partition of British Indian empire in 1947, man ...

believe that the focus of Lal Loi should be on getting rid of old belongings and cleansing the mind in readiness of the festival of Tirmoor which is observed the day after Lal Loi by all Sindhis. Tirmoor is the

i name for

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

. For Sindhis,

means worshipping Lord Sun and flying kites. According to some, not all

observe Lal Loi and the festival may have been observed by people of

Upper Sindh Upper Sind Frontier District was a district of the Bombay Presidency during British Raj, British Rule in colonial India. The district was the northernmost portion of Sindh, Sind and lay between 27°56' and 28° 27' N. and 68° and 69° 44' E., wit ...

where historically there has been inward migration from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. It is however difficult to establish where Lal Loi was celebrated in Sindh or if it is observed there now. However, the

community in India celebrate Lal Loi annually where festivals are organised in places such as

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

where the festival is organised by the Sindhu Sabha,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

. In places where

and Punjabis live in the same city, joint Lal Loi/

festivals are organised.
Merinews: Dr Lalit Kishore 08 01 2014

References

{{Sindhi festivals Sindhi culture Festivals in Sindh

See also

References