A new bride is given ornaments made of sugar drops and her new relatives are invited to meet and welcome her at a Haldi Kumkum celebration. It is the only Hindu festival which falls regularly on the 14 th of January every year. Lohri is the time after which the biting cold of winter begins to taper off. On this day the children go from door to door to collect funds for community bonfires which are lit in the evening. Lohri is more of a community festival, where the birth of a son or the first year of marriage is celebrated with great fun and frolic.
People gather around the bonfires and offer sweets, crisp rice and popcorn to the flames.
Songs are sung to the beat of vigorous claps and greetings are exchanged. It is a celebration of the harvest which is observed for three days in Tamil Nadu as well as in Andhra Pradesh. The first day is the Bhogi Pongal which is celebrated as a family festival. It is followed by great rejoicing. The pongal that has been offered to the local deities is given to the cattle to eat.