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Hundreds will celebrate Lohri Sunday in Surrey

Annual event celebrating harvest festival starts at 4 p.m. at Dhaliwal Banquet Hall
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Surrey’s Lohri celebration at Surrey’s Dhaliwal Banquet Hall begins Sunday at 4 p.m., with a bonfire. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

SURREY — A Surrey event is celebrating Lohri with a difference on Sunday, Jan. 14.

Lohri is a harvest festival that marks the end of winter and beginning of summer and is one of the most popular festivals for Sikhs and Hindus across the world.

Traditionally and culturally, Lohri is also celebrated for the birth of a boy in the family, or if a son is married.

But Trinjan, a Surrey non-profit organization, is celebrating Lohri as ‘Kuri Mundey di Lohri’ with the intention of celebrating the birth of girls in a family as well.

According to Amy Ghuman Sara, an organizer of Trinjan, the festival was first celebrated in Surrey with the intention of progressing with time.

“We look at those traditions and see if there’s a positive change that needs to implemented,” Sara said. “When a new child is born in the family, regardless of their gender, let’s celebrate life.”

Kuri refers to girls and Mundey refers to boys and Trinjan’s event translates to Lohri for boys and girls.

Lohri falls on Jan. 13 each year and is observed a day before Makar Sankranti, a major festival for Hindus and Sikhs.

According to the 2011 census data, nearly 37 per cent of the immigrant population in Surrey are from India and Sikhs make up 22.6 per cent.

Trinjan’s Lohri event will be held at Surrey’s Dhaliwal Banquet Hall (#230 8166 128 St.) and begins at 4 p.m., with a bonfire. Dancing and cultural events are also part of the event. Tickets are $20.

Organizers are expecting around 1,000 people to attend.

“People want to be part of this moment,” Sara said. “It’s the first festival after the New Year, and why not celebrate with positivity and be the change that we want to see?”

For more information on the Lohri celebration, call 604-612-4586.



yogesh.bala@surreynowleader.com

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