Makar Sankranti

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Makara Sankranti
Kite shop in Lucknow.jpg
Colourful kites being sold in a Shop in Lucknow
Also called Sankaranthi or Pongal
Type Seasonal, Traditional
Significance Festival of Harvest, Celebration of Winter Solstice
Celebrations Kite flying
2013 date 14 January
2014 date 14 January[1]
2015 date 14 January
2016 date 14 January

Makara Sankranti is a Hindu festival celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in a myriad of cultural forms. It is a harvest festival. It is the Hindi/Indo-Aryan languages name for Makara Sankranthi (still used in southern areas as the official name).

Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India and is a traditional. Makara Sankranti is a solar event making one of the few Indian festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 13 or 15 January.


According to the Hindi calendar Makar Sankranti is festival celebrated for new year for Hindus.

Date and significance[edit]

Winter Solstice

Makar Sankranti has an astrological significance, as the sun enters the Capricorn (Sanskrit: Makara) zodiac constellation on that day. This date remains almost constant with respect to the Gregorian calendar. However, precession of the Earth's axis (called ayanamsa) causes Makara Sankranti to move over the ages. A thousand years ago, Makara Sankranti was on 31 December and is now on 14 January. According to calculations, from 2050 Makar Sankranti will fall on January 15.

Makara Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. Many Indians also conflate this festival with the Winter Solstice, and believe that the sun ends its southward journey (Sanskrit: Dakshinayana) at the Tropic of Capricorn, and starts moving northward (Sanskrit: Uttarayaana) towards the Tropic of Cancer, in the month of Pausha on this day in mid-January. There is no observance of Winter Solstice in the Hindu religion. Makara Sankranti commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makara in Sanskrit, this occasion is named as Makara Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14 January every year (or may be sometimes on 15 January (leap year)).


All over the country, Makara Sankranti is observed with great fanfare. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western India, the festival is celebrated as the Sankranti day with special zeal and fervour. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata also. So, apart from socio-geographical importance, this day also holds a historical and religious significance. As it is the festival of Sun God, and he is regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning to it.


Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in different parts of the country popularly celebrated in Karnataka (Sankranthi), Andhra pradesh (Sankranthi) and Tamil Nadu (Pongal).

In India it is known by different regional names.


Traditions, rituals and celebration[edit]

It is celebrated differently in different regions of India.

Andhra Pradesh[edit]

The festival, Sankranti (మకర సంక్రాంతి), is celebrated for four days in Andhra Pradesh as below:

  • Day 1 – Bhogi (భోగి)
  • Day 2 – Makara Sankranti (మకర సంక్రాంతి-పెద్ద పండుగ)- the main festival day
  • Day 3 – Kanuma (కనుమ)
  • Day 4 – Mukkanuma (ముక్కనుమ)



The second day is Makara Sankranti. People wear new clothes, pray to God, and make offerings of traditional food to ancestors who have died. They also make beautiful and ornate drawings and patterns on the ground with chalk or flour, called "muggu" or "Rangoli" in Telugu, in front of their homes. These drawings are decorated with flowers, colours and small hand pressed piles of cow dung, called "gobbemma (గొబ్బెమ్మ)".

For this festival all families prepare Ariselu, Appalu (a sweet made of jaggery and rice flour) dappalam (a dish made with pumpkin and other vegetables) and make an offering to God.


On the third day, Kanuma (కనుమ) is celebrated. Nowadays Kanuma is not being celebrated widely as it used to be but is an integral part of the Sankranti culture.


People in Coastal Andhra do not eat any meat or fish during the first three days of the festival, and do so only on the day of Mukkanuma. Another notable feature of the festival in Coastal Andhra Pradesh is the Haridasa who goes early in the morning around with a colorfully dressed cow, singing songs of Lord Vishnu (Hari) hence the name Haridasu (servant of Hari). It is a custom that he should not talk to anyone and only sing songs of lord vishnu when he goes to everyone's house. On this occasion, in every town and city, people play with kites and the sky filled with beautiful kites. Children and elders enjoy this kite flying occasion.


Main article: Bihu


Main article: Bhogali Bihu


Instruments used in Bihu include:

Bihar and Jharkhand[edit]

Teel Barfi made predominantly of teel (sesame seeds) and gud


On 14 January, it is celebrated as Makar Sankranti or Sakraat or KHICHDI (in local dialects). As in other parts of country, people take baths in rivers and ponds and feast upon seasonal delicacies as a celebration of a good harvest. The delicacies include chura, gur (jaggery), various sweets made of til (sesame seeds) such as tilgul, tilwa, maska, etc., curd, milk and seasonal vegetables. Kite flying festivals are also organised, albeit on a small scale.


This festival is considered to be one of the most important festivals. People start their day by worshiping and putting til (sesame seeds) into fire followed by eating "Dahi-chuda" (remember dahi-chuda is different from chuda-dahi, as in former dahi, i.e. curd predominates over chuda, i.e. beaten rice or avalakki in Kannada in amount) along with Tilkut and Lai.

Generally in the morning people eat chuda-dahi (dahi-chuda is favourite of Maithil Brahmins) with kohada (red pumpkin) ka bhujiya which is made specially with sugar and salt combination without adding water in it, with lots of LAI, i.e. laddus made of til, chuda, chawal(rice). Women used to prepare these things in groups. After a such heavy meal it becomes next to impossible to eat lunch in the afternoon, so people spend the time in greeting others and playing with kites. At night a special KHICHDI is made. "khichdi ke 4 yaar, chokha, papad, ghee, achaar" (Hindi: "khichdi has four friends: chokha [a roasted vegetable dish], papad [lentil wafer], clarified butter, pickle") some prefer to add many more side dishes with khichdi like chatni, tilauri, etc. Since such a rich khichdi is generally only made once a year, the festival is also referred to as "Khichdi".

Delhi and Haryana[edit]

Jats and other rural communities of Delhi and Haryana, and many neighbouring states consider Sakraat or Sankranti to be one of the main festivals of the year. Halwa is cooked on this day, and one brother of every married woman visits her home with a gift in the form of some warm clothing for her and her husband.


Celebrations in Goa closely resemble to that in Maharashtra. It is the women folk who celebrate 'haldi-kumkum'.


Uttarayan, as Makara Sankranti is called in Gujarati, is a major festival in the state of Gujarat which lasts for two days.

  1. 14 January is Uttarayan
  2. 15 January is Vasi-Uttarayan(Stale Uttarayan)

Gujarati people keenly await this festival to fly kites, called 'patang' in Gujarati. Kites for Uttarayan are made of special light-weight paper and bamboo and are mostly rhombus shaped with central spine and a single bow. The string often contains abrasives in order to cut down other people's kites.


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

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

Himachal Pradesh[edit]

In Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh Makara Sankranti is known as Magha Saaja. Saaja is Pahari word for Sakranti, start of the new month. Hence this day marks the start of the month of Magha.

According to the Hindu religious texts, on the day of Uttarayani the sun enters the Zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricon), i.e. from this day onwards the sun becomes 'Uttarayan' or it starts moving to the north. It is said that from this day, which signals a change of season, the migratory birds start returning to the hills. On Magha Saaja people wake up early in the morning and take ceremonial dips and shower in the water springs or Baolis. In the daytime people visit their neighbours and together enjoy Khichdi with Ghee and Chaas and also give it in charity at temples. Festival culminates with singing and Naati(folk dance).


This is the Suggi(ಸುಗ್ಗಿ) or harvest festival for farmers of Karnataka. On this auspicious day, young females (kids and teenagers) wear new clothes to visit near and dear ones with a Sankranti offering in a plate, and exchange the same with other families. This ritual is called "Ellu Birodhu."[4] Here the plate would normally contain "Ellu" (white sesame seeds) mixed with fried groundnuts, neatly cut dry coconut and fine cut bella (jaggery). The mixture is called "Ellu-Bella" (ಎಳ್ಳು ಬೆಲ್ಲ). The plate also contains sugar candy moulds of various shapes (Sakkare Acchu, ಸಕ್ಕರೆ ಅಚ್ಚು) with a piece of sugarcane.[5] There is a saying in Kannada "ellu bella thindu olle maathadi" which translates to 'eat the mixture of sesame seeds and jaggery and speak only good.' This festival signifies the harvest of the season, since sugarcane is predominant in these parts.[6]

In some parts of Karnataka, a newly married woman is required to give away bananas for a period of five years to married women (muthaidhe) from the first year of her marriage, but increase the number of bananas in multiples of five. There is also a tradition of some households giving away red berries "Yalchi Kai" along with the above. In North Karnataka, kite flying with community members is also a tradition. Drawing rangoli in groups is another popular event among women during Sankranti.[7]




Kumaon (Uttarakhand)[edit]


Kale Kale,
bhol bate aile bor puwa,
Khale Ie Kauva bara,
mai ke de sunu gharo,
Ie Kauva dhal,
mai ke de sunu thai.

काले कौवा काले घुघुति माला खाले
ले कौवा बड़ा मकें दे सुणो घड़ा
ले कौवा ढाल मकें दे सुणो थाल




In Maharashtra on the Makara Sankranti (मकर संक्रान्ति) day people exchange multi-coloured halwa(sugar granules coated in sugar syrup) and til-gul ladoos (sweetmeats made from sesame seeds and jaggery). Gulachi Poli (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 plenty of 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 ghya, aani god god bola" meaning ‘Accept these tilguls and speak 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.

This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get-together called ‘Haldi-Kunku’ (literally meaning turmeric and vermillion) and given gifts such as utensil, clothes, etc. Typically, women wear black sarees or black coloured outfits on this occasion. The significance of wearing black is that Sankranti comes at the peak of the winter season and black colour retains and absorbs heat, helping keep warm.[citation needed] Maharastra is also famous for kite flying on this special occasion.

Kites waiting to catch the wind, held down by weights

Makara Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for the Hindus and is celebrated in almost all parts of India in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion. Millions of people take a dip in places likeGanga Sagar (the point where the river Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal) and Prayag and pray to the Sun God (Surya). It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of India as Sankranti (Pongal in Tamil Nadu), and in Punjab as Maghi.

In the western Indian state of Gujarat, the celebrations are even bigger. People offer thousands of their colourful oblations to the Sun in the form of beautiful kites. The act stands as a metaphor for reaching to their beloved God, the one who represents the best. In the rural and coastal areas, cock fights are held and is a prominent event of the festival. Makara Sankranti is also to honour, worship and to pay respect to Saraswati (Goddess of Knowledge). At the start of this significant event, there is also worship for the departed ancestors.


Since the festival is celebrated in mid winter, food prepared for this festival is such that it keeps the body warm and gives high energy. Laddu of til made with Jaggery is a speciality of the festival. In the western Indian state of Maharashtra it is called 'Tilgud'. In Karnataka it is called 'Yellu-Bella'. In some states cattle are decorated with various colours and are made to jump over a bon-fire.


In Odisha people prepare makara chaula (Oriya: ମକର ଚାଉଳ): uncooked newly harvested rice, banana, coconut, jaggery, sesame, rasagola, Khai/Liaa and chhena puddings for naivedya to gods and goddesses. The withdrawing winter entails a change in food habits and intake of nourishing and rich food. Therefore this festival holds traditional cultural significance. It is astronomically important for devotees who worship the sun god at the great Konark temple with fervour and enthusiasm as the sun starts its annual swing northwards.[2] According to various Indian calendars, the Sun's movement changes and the days from this day onwards become lengthier and warmer and so the Sun-God is worshiped on this day as a great benefactor. Many individuals at the start of the day perform a ritual bath while fasting.[2] Makara Mela (Fun fair) is observed at Dhabaleswar in Cuttack, Hatakeshwar at Atri in Khordha, Makara Muni temple in Balasore and near various deities in each district of Odisha. In Puri special rituals are carried out at the temple of Lord Jagannath.[2] In Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Koraput and Sundargarh where the tribal population is greater, the festival is celebrated with great joy. They celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm, singing, dancing and generally having an enjoyable time. Many of the traditional calendars in Odisha start their New Year from the day of Sankranti. Various tribal groups celebrate with traditional dancing, eating their particular dishes sitting together, and by lighting bonfires.


In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Makar Sankranti and is celebrated as Lohri. Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant (Sangrand), is celebrated as Maghi. Bathing in any river in the early hours on Maghi is important. Hindus light lamps with sesame oil as this is supposed to give prosperity and drive away all sins. The Punjabis dance their famous dance known as "bhangra". Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion. It is traditional to eat "kheer", rice cooked in milk and sugar. The parshada often includes popcorn.[citation needed]


"Makar Sankrati" or "Sankrat" in the Rajasthani language[3] is one of the major festivals in the state of Rajasthan. The day is celebrated with some special Rajasthani delicacies and sweets such as pheeni (either with sweet milk or sugar syrup dipped), til-paati, gajak, kheer, ghevar, pakodi, puwa, and til-ladoo.[4]

Specially, the ladies of this region observe a kind of ritual in which they give any type of object (related to household, make-up or food) to 13 married women. The first Sankranti experienced by a married woman is of significance as she is invited by her parents and brothers to their houses with her husband for a big feast. People invite friends and relatives (specially their sisters and daughters) to their home for special festival meals (called as "Sankrant Bhoj"). Also people give out many kind of small gifts such as til-gud (jaggery), fruits, dry khichadi, etc. to Brahmins or the needy ones.

Kite flying is traditionally observed as a part of this festival.[5] On this occasion the sky in Jaipur and Hadoti regions is filled with kites, and youngsters engage in kite contests trying to cut each other's strings.[5]

Tamil Nadu[edit]

Main article: Thai Pongal

(தை பொங்கல்)

It is a four-day festival in Tamil Nadu:

  • Day 1: Bhogi Pandigai(போகி பண்டிகை) (Bhogi)
  • Day 2: Thai Pongal(தை பொங்கல்)
  • Day 3: Maattu Pongal(மாட்டுப் பொங்கல்)
  • Day 4: Kaanum Pongal(காணும் பொங்கல்)


The first day of festival is Bhogi(போகி). It is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials, by setting them on fire, marking the end of the old and the emergence of the new. Also in a villages there will be a simple ceremony of "Kappu Kattu" (kappu means secure) will be done. The 'neem' leaves are kept along the walls and roof of the houses. This is to eliminate the evil forces.

The second day of festival is Thai Pongal or simply Pongal. It is the main day of the festival, falling on the first day of the Tamil month Thai. It is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new pots, which are later topped with brown sugar, cashew nuts and raisins early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel. This tradition gives Pongal its name. The moment the rice boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of "பொங்கலோ பொங்கல்(Ponggalo Ponggal)!" and blowing the sangu (a conch), a custom practised during the festival to announce it was going to be a year blessed with good tidings. Then New boiled rice is offered to the Nature during sunrise, a gesture which symbolises thanks to the sun and nature for providing prosperity. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. People also prepare savouries and sweets such as vadai, murukku, payasam and visit each other and exchange greetings.


The fourth day of the festival is Kaanum Pongal(காணும் பொங்கல் - the word kaanum means "to view"). During this day people visit their relatives, friends to enjoy the festive season. This day is a day to thank relatives and friends for their support in the harvest. It started as a farmers festival, called as Uzhavar Thirunaal in Tamil. Kolam'(கோலம்) decorations are made in front of the house during Thai Pongal festival.

Uttar Pradesh[edit]

In Hindu Mythology this is the first of the big bathing days. Over two million people gather at their respective sacred places for this holy bathing such as Allahabad and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand.[6] If they cannot go in river then they have to bath at home. But there is a compulsion to bath at morning while fasting, first they bath then they eat sweets such as til dadoo and gud laddo (known as tillava in Bhojpuri). At some places new clothes are also worn on this day.

Kite flying in the rooftops of Varanasi

Kite flying is an inevitable part of the festival in Uttar Pradesh,[6] as with many states of India such as Gujarat and Maharashtra. Like other places in India, the references to sweets, til (sesame seeds) and gud (jaggery) are also found in the songs sung on this day:

  • Meethe Gug me mil gaya Til,
  • Udi Patang aur khil gaye Dil,
  • Jeevan me bani rahe Sukh aur Shanti,
  • Mubarak ho aapko Makar-Sankranti.

West Bengal[edit]

In West Bengal, Sankranti, also known as Poush Sankranti named after the Bengali month in which it falls (last date of that month), is celebrated as a harvest festival Poush Parbon (Bengali: পৌষ পার্বণ). (It always falls on 14 January on the English calendar). The freshly harvested paddy along with the date palm syrup in the form of Khejurer Gur (Bengali: খেজুরের গুড়)and Patali (Bengali: পাটালি ) is used in the preparation of a variety of traditional Bengali sweets made with rice flour, coconut, milk and 'khejurer gur' (date palm jaggery) and known as 'Pithey' (Bengali: পিঠে). All sections of society participate in a three-day begins on the day before Sankranti and ends on the day after. The Goddess Lakshmi is usually worshipped on the day of Sankranti. In the Himalayan regions of Darjeeling, the festival is known as Magey Sakrati. It is distinctly associated with the worship of Lord Shiva. Traditionally, people were required to take a bath before sunrise and then commence their pooja. The food that is consumed consists primarily of sweet potatoes and various yams.

Millions of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar (the point where the river Ganges meets the Bay of Bengal).[7] Ganga Sagar falls in West Bengal. <Asis>In the day of Makar Sankrinti Hindu God Dharma is worshiped. And Hotchpot or rice is offered to the God as Vog(ভোগ). The day after Makar Sankranti the first day in the month Magh from Bengali calendar The Goddess Laxmi devi is worshiped. It is called BAHARLAXMI PUJA as the idol is worshiped in an open place.<Asis>



See also[edit]


  1. ^ "2014 Makar Sankranti, Pongal Date and Time for New Delhi, NCT, India". 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013. "2014 Makar Sankranti" 
  6. ^ a b "Traditional fervour marks Makar Sankranti". The Times of India. 15 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2014. 
  7. ^ "Devotees throng Gangasagar on Makara Sankranti". Retrieved 15 January 2012. 

External links[edit]