Makar Sankranti one of the major festivals of Hindus

Makar Sankranti is one of the major festivals of Hindus. This festival is celebrated with great grandeur and enthusiasm across the country. This festival holds great religious significance in the Hindu religion. On this auspicious day, people offer prayers to Lord Surya. On this auspicious day, Lord Surya moves from Sagittarius to the Capricorn zodiac sign.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated as a very important festival in India. Sankranti means "movement." Everything that we recognize as life is movement. Fortunately, people who came before us have moved on, and people who come after us are waiting for us to move on – don’t have any doubts about this.

The planet is moving and that is why it churns up life. If it were still, it wouldn’t be capable of life. So, there is something called movement in which every creature is involved, but if there has to be movement, this movement has to be housed – this movement can only happen in the lap of stillness. One who does not touch the stillness of his life, one who does not touch the stillness of his being, one who does not know or has not tasted the stillness within and without, will invariably get lost in the movement.

Movement is pleasant only to a point. The planet Earth is moving gently in such a beautiful manner – it is only changing seasons. Tomorrow, if it just speeds up, throttles up a little bit, then all our seemingly balanced minds will become imbalanced, and everything will spin out of control. So movement is beautiful only to a certain point. Once it crosses that point, movement becomes torture.

The Significance of Makar Sankranti

The significance of the Makar Sankranti festival is that it marks the day when 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.

There are many Sankranti throughout the year; the two significant ones are Makar Sankranti, and the right opposite, after summer solstice is Karka Sankranti. In between, there are many Sankrantis – every time the zodiac sign changes, it is called a Sankranti to suggest the movement of the planet, to understand that our life is sustained and nourished by this movement. If this movement ceases, everything about us will cease.

On the 22nd of December, the solstice happened, which means the sun, the movement or the tilt of the planet reaches its maximum. Now, from this day onwards, the northern movement is strong. Things start changing upon the earth. From Makar Sankranti onwards, winter is being relieved step by step.

This movement is also a significant aspect of the way we reap from this planet. There was a time when human beings could eat only what the earth offered. Then we learned how to get what we wanted from the earth; this is called agriculture. When we were hunting and gathering, we only picked up what was there.

It is like when you were an infant, you ate or swallowed whatever your mother gave you. When you became a child, you asked for what you wanted. So, we grew up a bit and started demanding and getting what we wanted, but still, you can only get what you want to a point that She is willing. If you stretch it beyond that, you will not only not get it, but you will get something else.

That is called industrialization. Agriculture is coaxing the mother to give what you want. Industrialization is ripping her apart.

Who celebrates Makar Sankranti?

This festival is celebrated in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan. There are variations of this festival across India and around Asia.

State/Country	Festival
West Bengal & North East	Pousha Sankranti
Tamil Nadu	Thai Pongal
Kerala	Makara Vilakku
Assam and North East	Magh Bihu
Gujarat	Vasi Uttarayan
Punjab	Maghi
Nepal	Maaghe Sankrant
Thailand	Songkran
Cambodia	Mohan Songkran

Why Makar Sankranti is celebrated?

‘Makara’ means ‘Capricorn’. The movement of the sun into ‘Makara Raashi’ or the ‘zodiac of Capricorn’ is called Makar Sankranti.

• This festival marks the end of the long, cold, winter months and the onset of spring. In ancient times, it was the time when the shift of the sun resulted in longer days. So, it is a celebration of the change of seasons – from a harsher to a milder climate. A sign of hope and positivity.
• This festival is celebrated in honor of Surya (the Sun God) to pay tribute for the grace of his energy that has enabled life and food on earth.
• As it is the harvest festival, it is a time of joy, abundance, and celebration in the farming communities, the time when they reap the fruits of their hard labor.
• It is also a time for peace when families bury the hatchet and get together.

Legend of Makar Sankranti

In some regions, it is believed that Sankranti is a deity and that she killed Sankarasur. The day after, the deity killed another asura (demon) called Kinkarasur. This is why this day is known as Kinkrant.

Since Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different states, there are different traditions in each state. Let’s explore the traditions of five states across India.

1. Maharashtra

Makar Sankranti is celebrated over three days in Maharashtra. People clean their houses, wear new clothes, and invite family and friends to visit them.

Day 1: Bhogi – Maharashtrians pray to the Sun God on this day; they also fly colorful kites together.

Day 2: Married women exchange haldi-kumkum (turmeric powder and vermillion), applying it on each other’s foreheads. They also exchange gifts.

Day 3: Kinkrant – This is the day Devi defeated a demon called Kinkarasur.

You might have heard Maharashtrians say this during Makar Sankranti:

‘Tilgul ghya goad bola’ – in literal translation, it means, ‘Take sweet, talk sweet, be sweet.’

This famous Marathi phrase means, ‘Take this sweet made of til (sesame seeds) and gul/gud (jaggery) and speak sweetly.’ It implies that we should give up our grudges and live harmoniously together. It is a time for forgiveness and togetherness. So, even if there are differences, the festival is a good time to forgive, forget, and move on.

Sesame seed is black on the outside, and white on the inside. The message it gives us is, ‘Maintain purity inside’. If you scrub the sesame seed, it becomes white outside also. We are like a sesame seed to this universe. If you see, what is our significance in this universe, what is life? Next to nothing, like a sesame seed – a mere speck! We are minuscule. We are tiny and sweet; delightful like sesame seeds with jaggery. So, stay small and sweet and you will truly become big. – Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Makar Sankranti food items: Multi-colored halwa, pooran poli (flat bread stuffed with jaggery and gram flour, served with pure ghee), and til-gul laddoo (sesame seed and jaggery balls) are the special delicacies prepared on this festival day.

2. Goa

Makar Sankranti is known as Sankrant in Goa.

• Women pray to Goddess Lakshmi Maa (Goddess of Wealth) and observe a 12-day haldi-kumkum (turmeric powder and vermillion) festival, where they apply these sacred powders on each other’s foreheads. They also put flowers on each other’s heads and exchange gifts – usually household items.

• Five leaf plates are offered to God with rice, chana dal (Bengal gram), jaggery, and coconut – one each for the deity and family, two for the crows (believed to be our ancestors); the last one is shown to all the corners of the house to ward off evil spirits. Only the one meant for the family is eaten. The ones meant for the deity and the corners are disposed of.

• This festival ends on Ratha Saptami – the day the temple deity is taken around the village in a rath (chariot). In the end, married women give coconuts, rice, and flowers to the temple.

• Newlywed women offer five clay pots filled with newly harvested food grains to the temple deity. These pots have black-beaded threads tied around them

• Here, people distribute sugar-coated til sweets. Like their Maharashtrian and Kannadiga counterparts, Goans wish each other, ‘Til gull gheiat, godd uloiat’ meaning, ‘Eat sesame sweets and jaggery, and sweeten your talk.’

Makar Sankranti food items: Delicacies with rice, chana dal (Bengal gram), jaggery, and coconut are prepared on these festival days.

3. Karnataka

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in Karnataka with great joy and enthusiasm.

• People clean their houses, decorate the entrance with mango leaves and rangolis (decorative designs made with rice flour), and wear new clothes.

• They exchange ellu-bella (sesame seeds and jaggery) sweets, fried groundnuts, pieces of coconut, sugarcane, and banana, offer haldi and kumkum, and wish each other.

• Kannadigas also wish their near and dear ones the same way their Marathi neighbors do: ‘Ellu Bella tindhu olle mathadu’. It means, ‘Eat the ellu (sesame seeds) and bella (jaggery) sweet, and speak sweet words.’

• Some newlywed women follow a five-year ritual where they give away bananas to other married women. They have to increase the number of bananas they give away each year in multiples of five.

• People also decorate cows and bulls colorfully with beautiful costumes.

• Some communities fly kites as well.

Makar Sankranti food items: Ellu bella (sesame seed and jaggery balls), sweet pongal, payasa (sweet pudding), lemon rice, and vadas are part of the sumptuous feast cooked on this day.

It is a wonderful occasion to meet family and friends.

4. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Makar Sankranti is celebrated over four days in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

• People wear new clothes, thank the Sun God for the year’s harvest, and prepare elaborate feasts on this occasion.

• Elaborate rangoli or muggu or decorative designs drawn in front of houses with chalk or flour. These are further decorated with flowers and cow dung (particularly in villages).

• Cockfights and bullfights were common sports of this season though they have now been banned.

Day 1: Bhogi Panduga – On this day, people burn old and unrequired articles in a bonfire that they light with old wood and furniture. The idea is to start afresh, ushering in the new.

Day 2: Pedda Panduga – This is the main festival day. People arrange feasts for guests and pay respects to ancestors.

Day 3: Kanuma Panduga – On this day, farmers honor and worship cattle, especially the cow. Girls of the community lovingly decorate and feed them.

Day 4: Mukkanuma – On this day, farmers pay tribute to the natural elements like fire, earth, and rain that enabled the harvest. People also fly kites together.

A unique feature of Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is that haridasus (devotees of Hari or Lord Vishnu) go from house to house singing songs of the Lord.

Makar Sankranti food items: Various savories such as poornalu (sweet made of rice flour covered stuffed with dal and jaggery paste), chakkara pongal (sweet pongal), rice kheer (pudding), and appalu (a sweet made of jaggery and rice flour) are prepared on this special day.

5. Rajasthan

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in Rajasthan with a lot of fervor and excitement. After several months of bitter cold, as the sun shifts toward the Northern Hemisphere, it is time to honor the sun for its bounty and beneficence.

• Some people bathe in holy rivers in spiritual places near their places of residence.

• Women in some communities gift household articles such as food or makeup to other married women.

• Newlyweds are invited by the girl’s parents on the first Sankranti after marriage for a feast called Sankrant Bhoj.

• Like all other states, Rajasthan also has a tradition of kite-flying. Sankranti is almost synonymous with the kite-flying festival here.

• Families and friends gather on terraces and roofs and fly kites together. Colorful kites of different shapes, sizes, and colors. made of leaves and paper speck the sky.

• Cities such as Jaipur and Jodhpur host kite war competitions wherein people have to cut the kite strings of other kite flyers and bring them down!

• They also fly illuminated kites known as ‘tukals’, which are essentially sky lanterns, at night time.

Makar Sankranti food items: Til laddoos (sesame seed balls), moongphali (peanuts), gajak (sesame seed, peanuts, and jaggery sweet), dal pakodi (fried moong dal snack), and gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding) are some of the delicious snacks made on this day.

On Makar Sankranti, sesame seeds & jaggery are exchanged. The tiny sesame seeds remind us of our insignificance in this vast creation. The feeling that ‘I am nothing’ dissolves the ego & brings humility. Jaggery is a symbol of spreading sweetness. – Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

States like Uttarakhand have Uttarayani fairs, where they showcase their cultural songs, dances, and games, and in Madhya Pradesh, people dip in holy waters in Ujjain on this day.

While each state has unique traditions during Makar Sankranti, the spirit with which the festival is celebrated is the same – integration, thoughtfulness, and joyousness. These are apparent in the common customs that are followed – gatherings of family and friends, the spreading of good wishes, and the sharing of delicacies.