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Magh Bihu 2023 Date: A significant Assamese festival, Magh Bihu marks the end of the harvesting season in the month of Magh (between January and February). Also known as Maghor Bihu, it is celebrated to mark a slight shift in the earth’s rotational axis that brings in the end of chilly winters and the beginning of spring.
This year, Magh Bihu will be observed with much fervour on January 14.
This is one of the three Bihu celebrated by the community and the term Bhogali Bihu is derived from the word Bhog, which refers to eating and enjoyment. And as the name suggests, there is plenty of food involved in the celebrations along with song and dance. The festival is also marked by bonfires, made of green bamboo, firewood, hay, and dried banana leaves. As a tradition, people take bath before setting up the bonfire.
The eve of the Bhogali Bihu is called the Uruka, the last day of the lunar month of Pousha. On this day, a grand feast, or bhog, is prepared on the night of the first day of the festival. Young men build makeshift thatched-roof huts, known as ‘bhelaghar’ and a ‘meji’ (bonfire) is created with hay and bamboo. Women prepare the feast in the bhelaghar. People spend the night near these mejis by singing songs and performing folk dances. The next morning, people take bath and then the Meji is burnt. It is believed that this burning of the bonfire helps to put an end to the cold season.
People also play traditional Assamese games like tekeli bhonga (pot-breaking) and buffalo fighting. They also pray to ancestral gods for their blessings.
People also make delicious rice cakes known by various names such as Sunga Pitha, Til Pith and coconut laddoos.
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