January 14th - Makar Sankranti - Festivals In India

Sankranthi literally means movement.

Have always wondered why Indians celebrate so many festivals.....

Is it another reason to renew your love and affection for your family and friends? Is it to remember the things in life that are really important? Or is it just to provide a mental and physical break from life? Whatever the reason, am glad we get so many reasons to celebrate precious moments in life. Asked a couple who had inter-cast marriage - One following Hindu and other Islamic culture - which festivals do they celebrate - They said - the last was Christmas - We are Indians! Not sure how long these feelings would last.

Given that we have the first 'National' celebration of this year which is celebrated with different names and different style, but with a single notion of joy, across different parts of the country - it is indeed colourful to think about it. This day marks the transition of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path, which is the first change in the zodiac after the winter. These festivals also symbolises harvesting the food grain. Just like One India has many festivals; this one festival is known by different names across India - but the essence is basically the same.

Saaji in Himachal Pradesh, it is the Pahari word for Sakranti, start of the new month. Hence this day marks the start of the month of Magha. The migratory birds start returning to the hills. On Magha Saaja people wake up early in the morning and take ceremonial dips and shower in the springs or baolis. In the daytime people visit their neighbours and together enjoy khichdi with ghee and chaas and give it in charity at temples. Festival culminates with singing and Naati (folk dance)

Lohri in Punjab for me reminds of kite flying, sugarcane juice, people light bonfires to worship the god of fire and perform rituals. For farmers, it is the financial new year as well. Hindus light lamps with sesame oil as this is supposed to give prosperity and drive away all sins.People dance their famous “bhangra”. Also known as Maghi, it represents the change of the season to warmer temperatures and increase in daylight. Maghi fairs are held in many places.


Malwa & Nimar in Rajasthan and Western Madhya Pradesh, the women of this region observe a ritual in which they give any type of object (related to household, make-up or food) to 13 married women. The first Sankranti experienced by a married woman is of significance as she is invited by her parents and brothers to their houses with her husband for a big feast. People invite friends and relatives (specially their sisters and daughters) to their home for special festival meals (called as "Sankrant Bhoj"). People give out many kind of small gifts such as til-gud (jaggery), fruits, dry khichadi, etc. to Brahmins or the needy ones. Even here Kite flying is traditionally observed as a part of this festival.

Uttarayan in Gujarat is synonymous with kite flying. The festival is dedicated to Surya, the Sun God. It is also believed that Surya visits his son, Shani, on this day, leaving behind all their differences.The gods who are believed to have slumbered for six long months are now awake and the portals of heaven are thrown open. During the festival, local food such as Undhiyu (a mixed vegetable including yam and beans), sesame seed brittle, sarso ka saag 😁and Jalebi is served to the crowds. Uttarayan is for enlightenment. This is the period of receptivity, of grace and enlightenment, of attainment of the ultimate.”

Sakraat in Bihar and Jharkhand the festival is celebrated on 14–15 January. Flying festivals are organized on a small scale.
People take baths in rivers and ponds and feast upon seasonal delicacies such as chura, gur (jaggery), sweets made of til (sesame seeds) like tilgul, tilwa, maska, etc., curd, milk and seasonal vegetables as a celebration of good harvest. On 15 January, it is celebrated as Makraat (in some parts of the state) when people relish special khichdi. At night a special khichdi is made and served with its four traditional companions, “char yaar” (four friends) — chokha (roasted vegetable), papad, Ghee and achaar.


Poush Parbon in West Bengal is named after the Bengali month in which it falls (last date of that month), here to it is a harvest festival. The freshly harvested paddy and the date palm syrup in the form of Khejurer Gur and Patali is used in the preparation of a variety of traditional Bengali sweets made with rice flour, coconut, milk and ‘khejurer gur’ (date palm jaggery) and known as ‘Pitha’. The last day of Poush is celebrated as Poush Sankranti in West Bengal. This day is considered auspicious among the Hindus and pilgrims from different parts of the country gather at Gangasagar, the point where Ganga river meets the Bay of Bengal. On the day of Makar Sankranti Hindu, God Dharma is worshiped and rice is offered to the God as Bhog. All sections of society participate in a three-day event beginning on the day before Sankranti and ending on the day after. The Goddess Lakshmi is usually worshiped on the day of Sankranti.


Makara Sankranti in Orissa besides the usual rituals, people of Orissa, especially Western and Southern Orissa, reaffirm the strength of the bond of friendship with their best friends during this occasion. The practice is called ‘Makara Basma’or 'Makara Basiba'. After a man binds himself with one of his friends in the shackles of friendship during Makar Sankranti, afterwards he addresses the other as ‘Maharshad’ or ‘Marsad’; if two women tie the friendship lace on each other's wrist, they call each other ‘Makara’. They don't utter each other's name. This goes on for one full year till the next Makar Sankranti. In Eastern Orissa, on many occasions, two friends feed each other ‘Mahaprasad’, the offering made in the famous Jagannath temple of Puri, and continue the friendship for at least one year. Orissa Post talks to some women about their experiences when they tied the friendship knot on Makar Sankranti.


Magh Bihu in Assam comes from the word Bhog that is eating and enjoyment. Night is spend around Bonfire or Meji with people singing bihu songs, beating Dhol, throw Pithas (rice cakes) and betel nuts to it while burning it at the same time. They offer their prayers to the god of Fire and mark the end of the harvesting year. Different types of sports like Buffalo-fight, Egg-fight, Cock-fight, Nightingale-fight etc. are held throughout the day. There are other conventional festivals observed by various ethnic-cultural groups.


Makara Sankranti in Maharashtra, Goa - Married women invite friends/family members and celebrate Haldi-Kunku. Guests are given til-gul and some small gift, as a part of the ritual. Women make it a point to wear black clothes. As Sakranti falls in the winter season, wearing black adds to the body warmth. This is an essential reason behind wearing black, which is otherwise barred on festival days. As per another legend, Lord Surya forgave his son Shani and his son visited him on Sankranti. And that's why people distribute everyone sweets and urge them to let go of any negative or angry feelings. While distributing sweets famous line “til gul ghya aani god god bola” (which means eat this sesame and jaggery and speak sweet words) is used in Maharashtra.

Suggi Habba in Karnataka an important ritual is display of cows and bulls in colourful costumes in an open field. Cows are decorated for the occasion and taken on a procession. They are also made to cross a fire. This ritual is common in rural Karnataka and is called "Kichchu Haayisuvudu." On this auspicious day, girls wear new clothes to visit near and dear ones with a Sankranti offering in a plate and exchange the same with other families. This ritual is called "Ellu Birodhu." Here the plate would normally contain "Ellu" (white sesame seeds) mixed with fried groundnuts, neatly cut dry coconut and fine cut bella (jaggery). In some parts of Karnataka, a newly married woman is required to give away bananas for five years to married women (muthaidhe/sumangali) from the first year of her marriage and increase the number of bananas in multiples of five. There is also a tradition of some households giving away red berries "Yalchi Kai" with the above. In north Karnataka, kite flying with community members is a tradition.

Makara Sankramana, Makara Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana. It is a four day festival, first is Bhogi where people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing change or transformation. At dawn, people light a bonfire of all items no more in use, second is Makara Sankranti. People wear new clothes, pray to God, and make offerings of traditional food to ancestors who have died. Third day is Kanuma which is very intimate to the hearts of farmers because it is the day for praying and showcasing their cattle with honor. Cattle are the symbolic indication of prosperity. Animals are fed as a symbol of sharing. People in Andhra and Telangana do not eat any meat (or fish) during the first three days of the festival and do so only on the day of Mukkanuma. Kanuma, Mukkanuma and the day following Mukkanuma call for celebrations with union of families, friends, relatives. People play with kites and the sky is filled with beautiful kites.

Pongal in Tamil Nadu for me reminds of the sweet and salted Pongal dish. This day shows the importance of removing all the dirt and unwanted things from our home as well as our mind and making room for new ideas or things to enter our mind and life. Cattles are decorated. Jellikattu is an important event, which is a contest for taming the wild bulls.

Makara Velaku in Kerala at Sabarimala; the Makara Jyothi is visible followed by the Makaravilakku celebrations. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappan) procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. It is a part of a religious ritual that is practiced in the past by the tribes in the forest of Ponnambalamedu(the place where Makaravilakku appears)

This festival is also celebrated by people in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is one of the few Indian festival celebrated on a fixed day of the Gregorian calendar.

Sadhguru: Makar Sankranti is celebrated as a very important festival in India. Sankranti literally means "movement." The significance of the Makar Sankranti festival is that it marks the day where there is a significant movement in the zodiac – the arrangement of the earth’s dial around the sun – and this movement brings about a new change in the way we experience the planet itself. From Makar Sankranti onwards, winter is being relieved step by step.

This movement is also a significant aspect in the way we reap what we need from this planet. The Makar Sankranti festival is also known and referred to as the harvest festival because this is the time when harvesting is complete and there are big celebrations. So this is a day when we remind ourselves that everything that we are is what we take from this planet.

There are celestial and spiritual connotations to it as well. This time is most important for Yogis to make a new, fresh effort in their spiritual process. Accordingly, people who have family also make a fresh attempt in whatever they do in their lives.

Read the full article at https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/makar-sankranti-significance-and-benefits-of-festival

It is said that the northward journey of the sun (Uttarayan) begins on this day. In the Hindu belief system, the end of January heralds the beginning of longer days.

Dakshinayan will begin on June and will continue for six months, in which nights are longer than days. when the sun travels towards the south on the celestial sphere. Dakshinayana begins on Karkada Sankranti or July 16 (btw 15 to 23), as it marks the transition of the Sun into Karkada rashi (Cancer).

A hemisphere's winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer solstice the year's longest.

The two solstices happen in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22). These are the days when the Sun's path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. he Equinox (Vernal & Autumnal)

There are only two times of the year when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a "nearly" equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. These events are referred to as Equinoxes. The word equinox is derived from two Latin words - aequus (equal) and nox (night). At the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on these two equinoxes.  The "nearly" equal hours of day and night are due to refraction of sunlight or a bending of the light's rays that causes the sun to appear above the horizon when the actual position of the sun is below the horizon.  Additionally, the days become a little longer at the higher latitudes (those at a distance from the equator) because it takes the sun longer to rise and set.  Therefore, on the equinox and for several days before and after the equinox, the length of day will range from about 12 hours and six and one-half minutes at the equator, to 12 hours and 8 minutes at 30 degrees latitude, to 12 hours and 16 minutes at 60 degrees latitude.

The Solstices (Summer & Winter)

The summer solstice occurs at the moment the earth's tilt toward/from the sun is at a maximum. Therefore, on the day of the summer solstice, the sun appears at its highest elevation with a noontime position that changes very little for several days before and after the summer solstice.  The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China.  For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year.

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° south of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, and northern South Africa.

 Seasons are caused by the fact that the Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5°.  The tilt's orientation with respect to space does not change during the year; thus, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun in June and away from the sun in December