JANUARY - POH
The start of a new year in the Gregorian Calendar. January. A name that comes from the Roman God Janus - the God of new beginnings. The Northern Hemisphere is deep in winter, whilst the summer sun scorches in the south. It’s a month of contrasts. Cold mornings and cozy firesides. Warm days and long, golden evenings. A month that divides the world. In the north, people await the promise of fresh snow and hot cocoa. In the south, people explore the thrill of beaches and barbecues.
January isn’t just about weather - people consider it a time for reflection, renewal, and reinvention. We look back at the year behind us, full of memories - some beautiful, others challenging. But then, we turn to what lies ahead. Those empty pages of a calendar, just waiting to be filled. Dreams. plans. Goals. All begin to align for the new year. For some, it’s about setting resolutions. Big goals. Healthier habits, a fresh start. Others see it as a chance to continue building on what they started last year. To keep the momentum going. To push a little harder. And then there are those who just want to savour the moment - taking each day as it comes. January has its own rhythm - slow but full of potential. It’s a time to shed the weight of the past year, to wave hello to new opportunities. The northern hemisphere houses bare trees that will soon burst into bloom. The southern hemisphere holds flora that blooms in full swing. No matter which part of Earth, we’re all getting ready for something new.
It’s a month that invites us to pause. To feel the cold, or the heat. To think about what we want from this year, who we want to become. Perhaps that’s why January holds such a special place - it’s a doorway. A moment suspended between what was and what could be. And as we step through it, with all our hopes and intentions - we begin again.
In Punjab, January falls in the middle of Poh. A month in the middle of the brisk winter. Many farmers have planted the crops they will sow the following spring. Angeethi warm up farmhouses in rural Punjab. Cities run on electric and gas heaters. Farmers protect their livestock from the cold in barns. It’s a time when mornings cover fields under a veil of fog. Waking up slowly with the first rays of the sun.
The air is crisp, carrying an earthy scent of damp soil and smoke from burning wood. Life slows down in the winter chill, but beneath the surface, the land prepares for new life - each seed holding a promise of the harvest to come. Crispness fills the nights, a chill that bites through layers. The fields stand silent under the starlit sky. The air is sharp. It carries the distant echo of a barking dog or the rustle of dry leaves. Stars scatter across the darkness. They offer a quiet light to the sleeping fields. The moon rises, casting a pale glow over the farmland, where rows of young wheat glimmer faintly in the frost. In the distance, the silhouettes of trees sway gently with the cold breeze, their shadows stretching long across the ground. The silence is broken only by the whisper of the wind weaving through the tall grass.
It’s a time when the land seems to hold its breath, waiting, resting, under the watchful sky. Poh is a time of patience. Waiting for the crops to ripen. Farmers keep watch, making sure their cattle are sheltered, that their crops are safe from frost. The barns echo with the gentle rustling of hay and the breaths of animals huddled together for warmth.
But despite the chill, there’s a sense of tranquility in the air. Because Poh is not just about the cold - it’s about preparing the harvest for later in the year. Continuing a cycle that has existed since the early civilisations. Working with the land to create sustenance. It’s about tending to what will soon bloom, nurturing the soil that will give life once more. Poh’s foggy mornings and cold afternoons remind everyone that every season has its own pace - its own purpose. It’s a time to appreciate the stillness, to respect the cycles that have turned for generations. And as the sun sets behind the fields, casting long shadows on the land, the promise of what’s to come lingers, just like the warmth of the angeethi.
A depiction of a village in the month of Poh.
As the year unfolds, may it be as rich and vibrant as the Punjabi heritage. As winter's fog embraces Punjab, may you discover warmth, inspiration, and hope. With heartfelt wishes, Trish Saab