Makar Sankranti Information

Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti?

Patangs with mithai images

Makar Sankranti will be celebrated on Wednesday, January 15, 2020.

India is the land of festivals. Makar Sankranti is one of the important festivals of Hindu religion that they celebrate with great joy and happiness. Makar Sankranti is also known as Pongal in Tamilnadu. The festival is celebrated every year on 14 or 15 January depending upon the solar cycle. It also marks the end  of the Winter season and the beginning of a new harvest season.

Which God is Worshipped on Makar Sankranti?

Makar sankrant wishes image

It is dedicated to Lord Sun. It also refers to a specific solar day in the Hindu calendar. On this auspicious day, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Makar which marks the end of winter month and start of longer days means summer. From the day of Makar Sankranti, the sun begins its northward journey or Uttarayan journey. Therefore, this festival is also known as Uttarayan.

This occasion is a very sacred and auspicious occasion according to Hinduism and they celebrate it as a festival.

Happy Makar Sankranti images

Sankranti always falls in the month of January which is a cold month. Black is the color that absorbs more heat than any other color it also keeps the body warm. Besides, Marathi’s wear black because they consider it auspicious.

How is Makar Sankranti Festival celebrated?

Beautiful patang flying in the sky

As may be the case with just about any and every other festival in India Makar Sankranti is celebrated with lots of decorations. People wear new clothes and savor homemade delicacies which are usually made of jaggery, gur and til. In some parts, Khichdi is also eaten. In Tamil Nadu, the festival is known as Pongal and people eat rice, which is boiled with fresh milk and jaggery. The dish is made more elaborate with toppings of cashew nuts, brown sugar and raisins.

Beautiful patang flying in the sky

In the major cities of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Jamnagar the skies appear filled with thousands upon thousands of kites as people enjoy two full days of Uttarayan on their terraces.

When people cut any kites they yell words like "kaypo chhe", "e lapet","jaay jaay","phirki vet phirki" and "lapet lapet" in Gujarati.

Beautiful big patang

In fact, Diana L Eck, a Harvard University professor and specialist at indology, has said that the Magha Mela has also been mentioned in Mahabharata. This means that the festival has been there for around 2000 years. On this day, plenty of people visit rivers and lakes sacred to them and bathe while thanking the sun. Makar Sankranti also sees Kumbh Mela, which happens to be one of the largest mass pilgrimages of the world every 12 years. It is estimated that around 40 to 100 million people take part in the same.

During this event people say a prayer that is dedicated to Surya and then bathe. It happens at a confluence named Prayaga. This is where River Ganga meets River Ya.muna. These two rivers are also accorded divine status in the Indian pantheon. It is said that Kumbh Mela was started by a sage named Adi Shankara.

Beautiful big patang

Makar Sankranti is an auspicious festival, hence people donate items to the poor and underprivileged. Some of the items donated are food, blankets, clothes, etc. 

What should we do on Makar Sankranti?

Other integral parts of the festival are fairs or melas, bonfires, dancing, feasts, and flying of kites.On Makar Sankranti (मकर संक्रान्ति) day people exchange multicoloured halwa (sugar granules coated in sugar syrup) and til-gul laadoo (sweetmeats made from sesame seeds and jaggery). Gulachi poli/puran poli (गुळाची पोळी / पुरण पोळी) (flat bread stuffed with soft/shredded jaggery mixed with toasted, ground til [white sesame seeds]) and some gram flour, which has been toasted to golden in pure ghee, are offered for lunch. 

While exchanging til-gul as tokens of goodwill people greet each other with the words "तिळगुळ घ्या, आणि गोड-गोड बोला / til-gul ghyaa, aani goad-goad bolaa" meaning ‘Accept this til-gul (sweet) and utter sweet words’. The underlying thought in the exchange of til-gul is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

Happy Makar Sankranti

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.