Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival and is widely celebrated in India. We celebrated this auspiscious Festival on 15th of January 2013 in IHS Temple.the festival is named differently in different parts of india and also celebrated in different ways.

The word Makar means..the Zodiac sign of Capricorn and Sankranti means ...Tradition. So Makar Sankranti literraly means the transition of the sun into the Zodiac sign of Capricorn i.e. Makar. Days become longer from this point so it is time for celebration.

This festival is to celebrate the transition of the Sun, from Saggittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (Uttarayan)

This is the perhaps the only Hindu major festival which is based and celebrated as per solar motion. All other major Hindu festivals are based on the lunar motion i.e the motion of the moon, and that is why Makar sankranti is always celebrated on the 14th january. Where as the other Hindu festivals each year does not necessarily fall in the same time of the year.

There are various stories in Hindu mythology, Puranas and very strong social aspects behind celebrating Makar Sankranti.

In Puranas it is said that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of makar rashi. the father & son do not get along nicely, but inspite of differences between each other thay make it a point to meet on this day. And thus day symbolises the importance of giving up differences and coming together.

Another associated belief is that Uttrayan starts the day of Deavtas, while Dakshanaya is said to be night of Devtas, so most oif the auspicious things are done during this time.

Another well-known reference of thsi day is from Mahabharata. Bhisham Pitamah declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of "Iccha Mrityu" from his father, so he kept on lying on bed of arrows till this day and left his body on Makar Sankranti day. It is beleived that a person who dies during the period of Uttrayana, becomes free from transmigration or from cycle of birth & death.

In uttar Pardesh , North India, masses of people take bath in Sangam at Paryag (Allhabad) where rivers Ganga, Yamuna and invisible saraswati mergwe together.

In Punjab, December & January are the coldest months of the year. This day is celebrated as "LOHRI", Huge bonfires are lit, sweets , sugarcane and pop corns are thrown in the bon fire, around whic friends and relatives gather together. The first lohri is of special significence for a newly born child and also for a newly married couple.

In Southern India, it is the harvest festival of Pongal and lasts for 3 days. On the 1st day rice boiled with milk is offered to the God of rain. On the 2nd day it is offered to the Sun and on the 3rd day the family cattle's are given bath and dressed with flowers and bells.. The cattle are honoured for their hard work in the fields.

In Gujrat, in Western part od india, it is celebrated as kite flying festival. Also elders of family give gifts to younger members of the family.

In maharashtara, Bombay (Mumbie) teh festival is called Makar sankrant. They make khichri of rice & moong dal.

A couple celebrating their first Sankranti or Lorhi after marriage gets gifts from parents. Newly wedded couples, a newly born childwear special ornaments and roti stuffed with jaggery (gurh) and sesame seed is the dish of the day. Married women are invited for get together called "Kaldi-KUmkum" and given gofts..

Ipswich Hindu Samaj has been celebrating this festival since its inception in July 2006 on the 14th January each year.

Makar Sankranti is the festival of friendship. A time to celebrate the old friendship to form the new ones and repair the old ones. The festival is celebrated all over India.

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