By Raj Thandhi @pinkchai & online at: pinkchaistyle.com
Style Writer
Lohri is the annual harvest festival celebrated in Northern India by lighting a bonfire, sharing peanuts, gur and rewri, singing folk songs, and dancing all night. This joyous festival marks the beginning of the financial New Year for farmers; and also celebrates fertility, new brides, and babies born during the previous year.
Traditionally a Punjabi celebration, Lohri has filtered across India and is even celebrated grandly in most foreign countries. If you are celebrating at home, or heading to a party this weekend; make sure your clothes take centre stage. That, and don’t forget to make saag on lohri and eat it the next day (not sure what that’s all about – it’s an old Punjabi tradition that fosters prosperity)
Lohri is definitely the day to wear your finest, most heavily embroidered, and brightest Indian outfits. In fact, many women wear their wedding outfits, or special pieces from their trousseau to mark the occasion. Want to take it up a notch; you know I wouldn’t leave you without some practical tips for rocking your Lohri looks right!
Mix and Match
Tri-colour suits and mixed prints are really hot right now; why not create your own custom look? Pull out a few of your suits and start playing. Maybe this kameez looks good with a dupatta from a different suit, or that pajama goes better with this kurti…you get where I’m headed with this? It’s the perfect time to work your re-mixing magic and stretch your desi wardrobe a little further.
Wear Something Sentimental
The Unreal Bride shows you how to wear a heritage piece in a brand new way.
Does your mom have an old tikka she wore to her wedding? Or maybe your grandmother still has a phulkari she embroidered by hand; Lohri is the perfect time to wear a heritage piece. Oh, how I wish my Nani still had her precious “saagi-phull” she wore to her wedding and often tells me about fondly. I would totally rock those with a retro bee-hive.
Don’t have an heirloom piece, or aren’t sure about wearing one? Try turning to your own treasured pieces. You could wear the dupatta from your wedding, or that kundan head piece you wore to your reception, I know you want to!
Dress Up the Bacha Party
Photo Credit: Payal Singhal
I’m so bad about taking opportunities to dress my kids up as little desis – but it’s so important! If we want to keep our kids connected to the culture we need to connect them to the rituals, festivals, food, and clothing! Visit your local Indian market and you’ll find so many cute options for girls and boys starting right from newborn sizes. (If you are looking for designer duds for your little ones, check out Payal Singhal’s Kids Collection). Link to the Bacha-Party post
Don’t Forget Dad
The last time my husband worn a traditional outfit was our wedding nearly 12 years ago. This year though I’ve got a commitment out of him to try and dress the part at festivals and family functions. Somehow I think the kids would get on the culture train and think it was a lot cooler if Dad took part too.
Bonus Tip: Take Lots of Generational Pictures
Festivals and family gatherings like Lohri are some of the few times a year we get together with our families and they fly by way too quickly. Last weekend I spent some time with my Nana and Nani and reminded my husband before we left that I wanted a picture with them, can you believe the last photo I have with them was also from my wedding. If you’ve taken the time out to get all dolled up, get your family together and celebrate; be sure to capture it.
We wish all of our readers at Masalamommas.com a very Happy Lohri and a prosperous year ahead. If you do capture some of your Lohri looks we’d love it if you shared them on our Facebook page.
I absolutely love Lohri! It’s a great excuse to dress up, get together with family, have a bonfire & celebrate new beginnings. Our first Lohri I wore my Mom’s Shaadi ka maang tikka… it was special because I had also worn it during our wedding.