Makar Sankranti is also known as Maghi or Makar Sankranti. Among Hindu deities, this festival dedicated to the Sun God is celebrated by Hindus. This festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated on 14 January every year. As it is the day the Sun transits into Capricorn Sign (Makar). Makar Sankranti also marks the end of the month when winters are at their peak, also referred to as the darkest night of the year. Makar Sankranti also indicates that (the change of seasons) the day has started to get bigger. According to Hindu tradition, this festival of Makar Sankranti also marks the beginning of Uttarayan with an auspicious period of six months.

Makar Sankranti festival in India

All Hindus celebrate their festivals according to the lunar calendar. Incidentally, the Hindu calendar has a similar shape to that of the lunar-solar almanac. As Makar Sankranti is celebrated according to the solar cycle, it comes on 14 January, the same date of the Gregorian calendar. However, this date has been changing from day to day for some years. However in this state, the Earth and the Sun may set at a complex intersectional speed, although located in these years are very rare. The festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated by different names in different regions of India.

Sikhs and Hindus of northern India celebrate this festival under the name Lohri, while in central India it is called Makar Sankranti. In Assam, this festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu. In Tamil Nadu and other parts of southern India, Hindus celebrate this festival as Makar Sankranti.

How is the festival of Makar Sankranti Celebrated

Like any other festival in India, the festival of Makar Sankranti is also celebrated with great decoration. People wear new clothes and taste homemade dishes that are normally made of jaggery and sesame. In some areas there is a practice of eating and feeding khichdi on this festival. In Tamil Nadu, this festival of Makar Sankranti is also known as Makar Sankranti and people eat rice, which is boiled with fresh milk and jaggery. This dish is methodically prepared by adding cashews, brown sugar and raisins over it.

Makar Sankranti is also performed in many other ways such as organizing fairs, lighting bonfires, organizing dances and feasts and flying kites. On this day, many people consider rivers and lakes to be holy and bathe in the sun. On the festival of Makar Sankranti, there is also a huge crowd at the Kumbh Mela, which is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world and this fair is held every 12 years. It is estimated that about 4 crore to 10 crore people participate in this fair.

During this Kumbh Mela, people believe that during their prayers while bathing here, people should pay obeisance to the Sun God. It occurs at a confluence called Prayag. This is where the river Ganges meets the Yamuna River. Both these rivers are given divine status among the Indian deities. It is said that the Kumbh Mela was started by a sage named Adi Shankara.

Makar Sankranti is an auspicious festival, so on this day people donate food, blankets, clothes, etc. to the poor and beggars. This festival of Makar Sankranti will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.