TL;DR
50 Lohri wishes in Punjabi, every one in Gurmukhi with the romanized version underneath, so they work for Biji's phone and for the cousin in Surrey who speaks Punjabi but reads it slowly. Sorted by who you're sending to: classic wishes, family, first Lohri (new bride, new baby, new daughter), short romanized status lines, and folk lines — including the opening of "Sundar mundriye". Tap to copy; both scripts copy together. For English, Hindi and Hinglish wishes, the main happy Lohri wishes bank has 62 more.
A few words that do the heavy lifting
Punjabi Lohri greetings are short and generous. Three words carry most of them:
- ਵਧਾਈਆਂ (vadhaiyan) — congratulations. "Lohri diyan lakh lakh vadhaiyan" is the classic: lakhs of congratulations on Lohri.
- ਮੁਬਾਰਕ (mubarak) — blessed, congratulations. "Lohri mubarak" and "Pehli Lohri mubarak" for a first Lohri.
- ਨਿੱਘ (nigh) — warmth, the cosy kind. It's the word for what a Lohri fire gives, and it makes any line sound like it came from home.
Lohri is also, traditionally, a festival of all Punjab — remembered on both sides of the border, which is why Dulla Bhatti, a hero from the Mughal era, sits at the centre of its songs. The lines below are original unless marked as folk.
Classic Lohri wishes (12)
For family — Biji, Bapu ji, veere, bhaine (10)
The ninth line — "we're sending home's Lohri warmth to our son sitting in a foreign land" — is the one parents in Jalandhar and Moga send to Canada every January. If you're the one abroad, the tenth is yours to send back.
First Lohri — vahuti, kaka, kaki (8)
A first Lohri after a wedding or a birth is one of the biggest days in a Punjabi family's year. Many families now celebrate a daughter's first Lohri — "dheeyan di Lohri" — just as loudly as a son's, and the fourth and sixth lines say so.
Short romanized status lines (12)
Romanized Punjabi reads best on WhatsApp status — it fits, it renders on every phone, and the cousins abroad can reply without hunting for a Gurmukhi keyboard.
Folk lines and boli-style wishes (8)
The first three are traditional — sung by children going door to door on Lohri evening — and are included because no Lohri list is honest without them. The rest are ours, written in the same rhythm.
"De mai Lohri, jeeve teri jodi" — "give us our Lohri, lady, and may your couple live long" — is what kids shout at the door when they want their rewri. Sending it to a newly married couple is a very Punjabi joke.
What NOT to do
- Don't machine-translate from Hindi. "Shubhkamnayein" doesn't belong in a Punjabi line; "vadhaiyan" does.
- Don't send only Gurmukhi to relatives abroad whose reading is rusty. Send both — every line here copies with both.
- Don't send "Pehli Lohri mubarak" to the wrong couple. Check it's actually their first.
- Don't wait for the 14th. That's Maghi. Lohri is the night of the 13th.
- Don't skip the daughters. If a family is celebrating a baby girl's first Lohri, the line that names her is the one they'll keep.
When a wish wants the whole fire
For the tabbar that's split between Ludhiana and Brampton this year, Lovely's Happy Lohri template puts your Punjabi on a bonfire night. It opens cold and dark — "lohri di raat · for…" — and they rub back and forth across the screen to light the wood until the fire catches ("better. now gather round."). Then they drag the offerings into the flames — rewri, moongphali, phulle, gajak, til — and each one reveals a wish you wrote, in whichever script you like. You choose three to five. Then they tap the dhol and your photos step into a bhangra ring one by one, with captions you write ("chief hype officer"). The last screen is a phulkari panel with their name, your line, "ਲੋਹੜੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ" and your sign-off. ₹49 once.
"We wrote the finale in Gurmukhi by default," says Lovely's founder. "For a Punjabi family, seeing their own script on a screen like that is half the gift."
If you'd like help with the English side, the happy Lohri wishes bank has first-Lohri and family-abroad lines that slot into the offerings. And since the next morning is Maghi and Makar Sankranti, the Makar Sankranti wishes are ready for the 14th.
Make it yours: add the pind or the person
The one edit that makes any line above yours: a place or a name.
- "Pind di Lohri, shehar di yaad" → "Nakodar di Lohri, Toronto vich yaad."
- "Veere, bhangra tere bina adhoora hai" → "Gurpreet veere, bhangra tere bina adhoora hai."
- "Pehli Lohri mubarak!" → "Simran te Kabir nu pehli Lohri mubarak!"
Lohri is a village festival at heart — everybody knows whose fire is whose. Naming the pind or the person brings that back.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say Happy Lohri in Punjabi?
The most common greeting is "Lohri diyan lakh lakh vadhaiyan" (ਲੋਹੜੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ) — "a hundred thousand congratulations on Lohri". "Lohri mubarak" (ਲੋਹੜੀ ਮੁਬਾਰਕ) is shorter and just as common, and "Pehli Lohri mubarak" is used for a first Lohri.
What does 'lakh lakh vadhaiyan' mean?
It literally means "lakhs and lakhs of congratulations" — an affectionately exaggerated way of saying "many, many congratulations". Punjabi greetings love that kind of abundance, which is why the phrase turns up at weddings, births and Lohri alike.
What is 'Sundar mundriye' and why is it sung on Lohri?
It is the best-known traditional Lohri song, sung by children going door to door for treats. It praises Dulla Bhatti, a folk hero of Punjab remembered for protecting girls and arranging their marriages. Its opening lines — "Sundar mundriye ho, tera kaun vichara ho, Dulla Bhatti wala ho" — are recognised by almost every Punjabi household.
Should I send Lohri wishes in Gurmukhi or Roman script?
Both, if you can. Gurmukhi reads as warmer to elders and is right for a card, while romanized Punjabi is easier on WhatsApp status and for relatives abroad who speak Punjabi but read it less. Every line here copies with both scripts together.
Can I make a Lohri page with Punjabi lines?
Yes. Lovely's Happy Lohri template already ends on "ਲੋਹੜੀ ਦੀਆਂ ਲੱਖ ਲੱਖ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ", and every line on it is editable, so the bonfire offerings, the dhol captions and the finale can all be in Punjabi. It costs ₹49 one-time and opens from a WhatsApp link.