MAKAR SANKRANTI

Jan. 14, 2020

The President of India greeted fellow citizens on the eve of the festivals of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Paush Parbon. These festivals are celebrated in diverse yet similar ways, across India.

About:

Makar Sankranti is a festival day in the Hindu calendar, in reference to deity Surya (sun).
Date of observance: Makar Sankranti is observed according to solar cycles. It is held normally on the 14th of January, or a day before or after. In certain regions celebrations can go on for even four days and vary a lot in the rituals.
Significance: It marks the –
- first day of sun's transit into the Makara (Capricorn), marking the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days.
- end the inauspicious phase of the preceding month that is called Paush.
- beginning of the end of chilling winter.
- occasion to celebrate the hard work of millions of our farmers and people across the country (it is celebrated as a harvest Festival)
Names: It goes by its standard all-India name, ‘Makar Sankranti’ in Odisha, Maharashtra-Goa, Andhra-Telengana, Kerala and most of the north India. It is also called as –
- Paush Parbon in Bengal,
- Pongal in Tamil Nadu,
- Uttarayan in Gujarat,
- Bhogali Bihu in Assam,
- Lohri in Punjab and Jammu,
- Maghi in Haryana and Himachal.
- Makar Sankramana in Karnataka,
- Saen-kraat in Kashmir.
- Sukaraat in Madhya Pradesh,
- Khichdi Parwa in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.