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| Laddu |
- This festival is celebrated as a mark of respect for the sun which comes on the tropic of cancer on this day and inches towards the northern hemisphere
- From this day the day become longer bit by bit
- This festival is also related to harvesting
- Sweets from newly harvested rice, flat rice and til, a kind of oilseed are prepared and distributed among friends and relatives
- Khichri, a dish prepared from rice, pulse of the new crop is served to God
- Most of the Hindus especially of the north take Khichri on this day after taking bath early in the morning either in a pond or in a river
- In some part of Mithila and Bihar flat rice and curd is also eaten
- one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in a myriad of cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour, and gaiety
- It is a harvest festival
- Makar Sankranti is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year: 14 January, with some exceptions, when the festival is celebrated on 13 January or 15 January
- Makar Sankranti is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India
History
- Makar Sankranti is the day when the Sun begins its movement away from the tropic of Capricorn and towards the northern hemisphere and thus it signifies an event wherein the Sun-God seems to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya'—may you go higher and higher, to more and more Light and never to Darkness
- To Hindus, the Sun stands for knowledge, spiritual light, and wisdom
- Makar Sankranti signifies that we should turn away from the darkness of delusion in which we live, and begin to enjoy a new life with bright light within us to shine brighter and brighter
- We should gradually begin to grow in purity, wisdom, and knowledge even as the Sun does from the Day of Makar Sankranti
- The festival of Makar Sankranti is highly regarded by the Hindus from north to south
- The day is known by various names and a variety of traditions are witnessed as one explores the festival in different states
- Owing to the vast geography and diversity of culture in India, this festival is celebrated for innumerable reasons and in innumerable ways depending on the climate, agricultural environment, cultural background and location
- On this day children fly kites
- Makar Sankranti has an astrological significance, as the sun enters the Capricorn (Sanskrit: Makar) zodiac constellation on that day
- This date remains almost constant with respect to the Gregorian
- A thousand years ago, Makar Sankranti was on 31 December and is now on 14 January
- Five thousand years later, it shall be by the end of February, while in 9,000 years it shall come in June
- While the traditional Indian Calendar is based on lunar positions, Sankranti is a solar event
- So while dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing as per the Gregorian calendar, the date of Makar Sankranti remains constant over a long term, 14 January (or maybe sometimes on 15 January (leap year)
- is celebrated in the Hindu Calendar month of Magha
- a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India
- Many Indians also conflate this festival with the Winter Solstice, and believe that the sun ends its southward journey (Sanskrit: Dakshinayan) at the Tropic of Capricorn, and starts moving northward (Sanskrit: Uttarayaan) towards the Tropic of Cancer, in the month of Pausha on this day in mid-January
- There is no observance of Winter Solstice in the Hindu religion
- Makar Sankranti commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India
- The movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makar in Sanskrit, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context
- also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture
- It is said as the 'holy phase of transition'
- It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December
- It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Hindu family, this day onward
- Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season
- All over the country, Makar Sankranti is observed with great fanfare
- However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country
- The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata also
- So, apart from socio-geographical importance, this day also holds a historical and religious significance
- As it is the festival of Sun God and he is regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning to it
- Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in different parts of the country
- According to the Puranas, on this day Surya (Sun) visits the house of his son Shani (Saturn), who is the lord of the Makar Rashi (Capricorn)
- Though the father and son duo did not get along well, the Surya made it a point to meet his son on this day
- He, in fact, comes to his son's house, for a month
- This day thus symbolizes the importance of the special relationship between father and son
- From Makar Sankranti starts the 'day' of devatas (gods), while dakshinayana (southward movement of the sun) is said to be the 'night' of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time
- Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the dakshinayana' is called Pitrayana
- It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever-increasing terror of the asuras (demons) by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandara Parvata
- So this occasion also represents the end of 'negativities' and beginning of an era of righteous living
- Maharaja Bhagiratha, performed great penance to bring Ganga down to the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present-day Ganga Sagar
- It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse
- After visiting the Pataala (underworld) for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath's ancestors the Ganges finally merged into the sea
- A very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal
- Thousands of Hindus take a dip in the water and perform tarpan for their ancestors
- Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grand-sire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day
- He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu (death at his will) from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day
- It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration (rebirth)
- So this day was seen as a definite auspicious day to start a journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond
