TL;DR
62 original happy Lohri wishes for January 13: short English lines, wishes for a first Lohri (new bride or new baby), Hindi in Devanagari, Hinglish one-liners for WhatsApp status, funny lines for friends, and wishes for family in Brampton, Surrey or Southall. Tap to copy. The one edit that turns any of them into your wish is at the bottom. For lines in Gurmukhi, the Lohri wishes in Punjabi bank is the companion to this one.
Lohri, briefly
Lohri is the bonfire night of Punjab — celebrated across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu and wherever Punjabi families have settled. On the evening of January 13, as the coldest stretch of winter turns, families and neighbours gather around a fire, circle it, and throw in rewri, gajak, moongphali, phulle (popcorn) and til as offerings. There's dhol, bhangra and gidda; makki di roti and sarson da saag; kids going door to door singing "Sundar mundriye" for Dulla Bhatti, the folk hero who protected girls from being sold. And there's the first Lohri — the year after a wedding or a baby — which in many families is bigger than a birthday.
The wishes that land use one of those details: the fire, the rewri, the dhol, the first Lohri. The forwarded "Happy Lohri 🔥" doesn't.
Short wishes in English (12)
First Lohri — for a new bride or a new baby (10)
In Punjabi families, a first Lohri is a celebration in its own right. These are for congratulating the family, or writing to the new member directly.
Celebrating a daughter's first Lohri the way families have long celebrated sons' — "dheeyan di Lohri" — is now common across Punjab. If that's your family, say so. It's a line people remember.
देवनागरी — लोहड़ी की शुभकामनाएँ (10)
For a card, the family group or Hindi-speaking relatives. Each line copies with its romanized version attached.
Hinglish one-liners for WhatsApp status (12)
Romanized lines read best on WhatsApp status — they fit the box and every phone renders them. Pair one with your bonfire photo.
Funny Lohri wishes for friends (8)
For family abroad (10)
Lohri travels well — Brampton, Surrey, Southall, Melbourne and Yuba City all have their own bonfires now. These are for the people who are far from yours.
What NOT to do
- Don't send Lohri wishes on the 14th. That's Maghi and Makar Sankranti. Lohri is the night before.
- Don't forget the first Lohri. If a couple or a new baby in your circle is having one, a generic wish to the family group misses the point. Message them directly.
- Don't forward the same bonfire GIF. One line with their name beats it.
- Don't make fire jokes to someone who's had a fire scare. Obvious, and still worth saying.
- Don't leave out the food. Lohri without rewri and gajak isn't Lohri.
When a wish wants a bonfire
For the cousin in Calgary, the friend in a Bengaluru PG who's missing the village bonfire, or the couple whose first Lohri you can't attend, Lovely's Happy Lohri template gives your words a fire to sit around. It opens on a dark, freezing night — "brr. it's freezing." — and they rub across the screen to light the wood, warming it until the bonfire catches. Then they drag rewri, moongphali, phulle, gajak and til into the flames; each offering reveals one of your wishes ("gajak: may the hard days crack easily."). You choose three to five offerings. Then the dhol: every tap brings another of your photos into a bhangra ring, with captions like "main bhangra star" and "fell. got up. kept going." It ends on a phulkari-embroidered screen with their name, your line, "ਲੋਹੜੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ" and your sign-off. ₹49 once, opens from a link.
"The rub-to-light screen is the one everyone talks about," says Lovely's founder. "It's a little bit of effort — exactly like a real fire on a cold night."
Lohri falls on January 13, a day before Makar Sankranti — so if your people celebrate both, the Makar Sankranti wishes bank is the next day's companion.
Make it yours: name the offering
The one edit that makes any line above yours: tie the offering to the person.
- "May every seed of til you throw tonight come back as good luck" → "May every seed of til come back as good luck for your Canada PR."
- "Gajak khao, gham bhulao" → "Gajak khao, boards ka gham bhulao."
- "Mummy made your share of gajak" → "Biji made your share of pinni. It's in the freezer."
Lohri's offerings are wishes thrown into a fire. When you name what you're wishing for, the line stops being a greeting and becomes one of those offerings.
Frequently asked questions
When is Lohri celebrated?
Lohri is celebrated on January 13 in most years — the night before Maghi and Makar Sankranti. The bonfire is lit after sunset, so evening is the natural time to send wishes, though most people send them through the day.
What is a good Lohri wish?
One that uses the bonfire: "May this Lohri fire burn away the old year and keep you warm all of the new one." Lohri is about warmth, the harvest and togetherness, so a wish that names the fire, the rewri or the people around it lands better than a generic festival greeting.
What should I write for a first Lohri?
A first Lohri — for a newly married couple or a newborn — is a big family celebration in Punjabi homes. Congratulate the family, name the new member and bless the year ahead: "Pehli Lohri mubarak! May the little one's first fire be the start of a lifetime of warmth."
Who is Dulla Bhatti in Lohri songs?
Dulla Bhatti was a folk hero of Punjab, remembered for rescuing girls from being sold and arranging their marriages. Children going door to door on Lohri sing "Sundar mundriye" in his honour, which is why his name turns up in Lohri songs and wishes.
Can I send something more than a Lohri message?
Yes. Lovely's Happy Lohri template is a page they play through: rub the wood to light the bonfire, drag rewri, moongphali, phulle, gajak and til into the flames — each one reveals a wish — tap the dhol to make your photos dance bhangra, and finish on a phulkari screen with their name. It costs ₹49 one-time.