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[[File:FAIR on makar sankranti fastival.jpg|right|thumb|A fair during Makar Sankranti festival]]
[[w:Makar Sankranti|Makara Sankranti]] is a [[w:List of Hindu festivals|Hindu festival]] celebrated in almost all parts of [[India]] and [[w:Nepal|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 [[w:Zodiac sign|zodiac sign]] of [[w:Makara rasi|Makara rashi]] ([[w:Capricorn|Capricorn]]) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of [[spring]] in India and is a traditional festival. Makara Sankranti is a solar event making one of the few Indian festivals which fall on the same date in the [[w:Gregorian calendar|Gregorian calendar]] every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 13 or 15 January.
==Quotes==
===Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations, Volume 2===
[[File:Pongal.jpg|right|thumb|Makar Sankranti is observed in the month of [[w:Magha|Magha]] as the [[sun]] enters Capricotn on or near January 14 on the [[w:Common Era|Common Era]] calendar. It is also celebrated as Uttarayana Punyakalam, [[w:Pongal|Pongal]] (in [[w:Tamil Nadu|Tamil Nadu]]), and Pedda Panduga (in [[w:Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]]).]]
[[File:Kite_shop_in_Lucknow.jpg|right|thumb|[[w:Kite flying|Kite flying]] has become a popular activity in [[India]], and for the more secular minded, it has become the dominant aspect of this day. The city of [[Delhi]] holds an annual Kite Flying Day festival on January 14, and the celebration has spread across the [[India|country]].]]
<small>Constance A. Jones in: ''[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=KDU30Ae4S4cC&pg=PA547 Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations, Volume 2]'', ABC-CLIO, 13 September 2011</small>
*Makar Sankranti (January 14) is a [[festival]] held across [[India]], under a variety of names, to honor the [[god]] of the [[sun]], [[w:Surya|Surya]]. Though often relegated to a secondary position relative to the three prominent [[Hindu]] [[deities]] — [[Brahma]], [[Vishnu]], [[Shiva]]. Surya was a key figure in the ancient [[w:Hindu texts|Hindu texts]], the [[Vedas]], and is the subject of the most repeated texts of [[Hindu]] [[liturgy]], the [[Gayatri Mantra]].
*Makar Sankranti heralds the end of [[winter]] and the arrival of [[spring]] throughout the [[w:Northern Hemisphere|Northern Hemisphere]]. Through the next six months, called the [[w:Uttarayana|Uttarayana period]], the days will become longer and warmer, and the whole period is considered an [[auspicious]] time. The day is also tied to the just-celebrated Bhishma Astami, which remembered the [[death]] of the hero [[w:Bhishma|Bhishma]] from the ancient [[Hindu epic]] the [[Mahabharata]], who chose to die just as the Uttraayanna period began.
*Makar Sankranti is observed in the month of [[w:Magha|Magha]] as the [[sun]] enters Capricotn on or near January 14 on the [[w:Common Era|Common Era]] calendar. It is also celebrated as Uttarayana Punyakalam, [[w:Pongal|Pongal]] (in [[w:Tamil Nadu|Tamil Nadu]]), and Pedda Panduga (in [[w:Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]]).
*A variety of stories are told of [[w:Surya|Surya]], which have implications for observance of this day(s). The [[sun]] [[god]], for example, had a number of children, among them the Lord [[w:Shani|Shani]], one the nine primary celestial beings in [[w:Hindu astrology|Hindu astrology]]; Shani is identified with [[planet]] [[Saturn]]. When Shanti was born, it is said, an [[eclipse]] of the sun occurred. It is also said that Surya and Shani have their differences, but always on Makara Sankranthi, Surya visits with Shani- thus fathers should visit their sons. [[Food]], especially [[sweets]], will be prepared using til (w:Sesame oil|sesame seed oil]]), which is valued for its stickiness or binding quality. Thus, the sweets that people will give those close to them are a [[symbol]] of being bound together, whatever differences might arise.
*Makar Sankranti is also fraught with implications for the early phases of the agricultural cycle. It is a time to [[pray]] for a [[prosperous]] [[w:Growing season|growing season]] and a good future [[harvest]], and a time to bathe one's [[cows]], so essential to all aspects of [[w:Agricultural production|agricultural production.It is a time to remember [[ancestors]] and, in the evenings, to celebrate around bonfires.
*The largest gathering for Makar Sankranti is on Sager Island in West Bengal at the point the Hooghly River, a branch of the Ganges as it spreads out approaching the Indian Ocean and meets the Bay of Bengal. Each January, several hundred thousand polgrims gather on the island for the beginning of spring. Makar Sankranti occurs in the middle of the lengthy
Kumbha Mela and Magh Mela celebrations and is a high point within them. p. 548
*[[w:Kite flying|Kite flying]] has become a popular activity in [[India]], and for the more secular minded, it has become the dominant aspect of this day. The city of [[Delhi]] holds an annual Kite Flying Day festival on January 14, and the celebration has spread across the [[India|country]].
===Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti on January 14 every year?===
<small>Mayank Vahia in: ''[http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standpoint-why-do-we-celebrate-makar-sankranti-on-january-14-every-year-1968036 Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti on January 14 every year?]'', DNA India, 9 March 2014</small>
*On January 14 every year, Makar Sankranti, is the only [[w:Indian festival|Indian festival]] celebrated on a fixed calendric day of the [[w:Solar calendar|solar calendar]].
*Makar Sankranti is unique as it goes entirely by the solar calendar. The clue to this mystery lies in the fact that Makar Sankranti is also called [[w:Uttarayana|Uttarayan]], or the day on which the [[sun]] begins its northward journey.
*January 14 is the day on which the [[sun]] begins to rise in the [[w:Makara Rashi|Makara Rashi]], [[w:Sankranti|Sankranti]] meaning entering.
*While the exact day on which the [[w:Winter solstice|winter]] or [[w:Summer solstice|summer solstice]] occurs remains steady (within one day error), there is a slight change in the way the [[w:Earth’s rotation|Earth's rotation]] [[axis]] is [[aligned]] to the [[sun]]. Hence, over a period of a few hundred years, this drift means that even though the sun begins its [[w:Uttarayana|Uttarayan]] on December 21, it is not in the [[w:Makara rashi|Makara rashi]] as it was about 1,500 years ago. So, 1,500 years ago, during the time of [[Aryabhata]], the Uttarayan and Makar Sankranti coincided. Now Makar Sankranti comes on January 14, but Uttarayan happens on [[w:Dhanurmas|Dhanu]] [[w:Sankranti|Sankranti]]!
*So what day to celebrate? Well, if you want to celebrate [[w:Uttarayana|Uttarayan]], do it on December 21, but if you want to celebrate Makar Sankranti, January 14 is about right. Incidentally, it also means that [[winter]], which is at its peak in January and February, used to be at its peak in February and March at the time of [[Aryabhata]].
===Significance Of Makar Sankranti - Odisha===
[[File:RangoliPongal.jpg|right|thumb|Makar Sankranti is celebrated as per the [[w:Hindu calendar|Hindu calendar]] month of [[w:Magha|Magha]]. This festival is celebrated for innumerable reasons depending on various [[climate]], [[w:Agriculture|agricultural]] [[environment]], [[w:Culture|cultural]] background and location.]]
<small>[[w:Sankranti|Sankranti]] in: ''[http://odisha.gov.in/portal/LIWPL/event_archive/Events_Archives/140Makar_Sankranti.pdf ] Significance Of Makar Sankranti - Odisha]'', Government of Orissa</small>
*The traditional [[w:Indian Calendar|Indian Calendar]] is based on [[w:Lunar|lunar]] positions but [[w:Sankranti|Sankranti]] is a [[w:Solar|solar]] event. So while dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing as per the Gregorian calendar, the date of Makar Sankranti remains constant, every year on 14 January.
*Makar Sankranti is celebrated as per the [[w:Hindu calendar|Hindu calendar]] month of [[w:Magha|Magha]]. This festival is celebrated for innumerable reasons depending on various [[climate]], [[w:Agriculture|agricultural]] [[environment]], [[w:Culture|cultural]] background and location.
*Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the [[Sun]] into Capricorn on its celestial path. There is another significance of this day i.e. the days start becoming longer and warmer and thus the chill of [[winter]] declines.
*The [[Puranas]] say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son [[w:Shani|Shani]], who is the swami of [[w:Makara Rashi|Makar Rashi]]. This day [[symbolizes]] the healthy relationship of father and son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers [[dream]] and the continuity of the family. It was on this day when Lord [[Vishnu]] ended the ever increasing terror of the [[w:Asuras|Asuras]] by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandara Parvata (Mountain). So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.
*The name for this festival varies depending upon the people of various regions of India. From this day Goddess [[Saraswati]] is [[worship]]ped as it marks the beginning of Vasant Navaratri. In some parts of India people offer thousands of colorful [[w:Oblation|oblations]] to the [[Sun]] in the form of beautiful [[kites]]. Various sweets are prepared and distributed among the near and dear ones.
*In the rural and coastal areas, cock fights are held on this day. People abstain from doing their regular [[chores]] and spend time in [[music]]al soirees with their friends and relatives.
===Makar Sankranti===
[[File:Homepongal.JPG|right|thumb|In [[w:South India|Southern India]] it's the harvest festival [[w:Pongal|Pongal]] and lasts for 3 days. On the first day, [[rice]] boiled with [[milk]] is offered to the Rain God. On the second day, it is offered to the the Sun God and on the third day, the family [[cattle]] are given a bath and dressed with flowers, bells and colours, to honour them for their hard work in the fields.]]
[[File:Gangireddula vallu.jpg|right|thumb|Telugu man with his cow, elaborately decorated for the festival of Makar sankranti]].
<small>[[w:BBC|BBC]] in: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/makar.shtml Makar Sankranti], BBC, 29 June 2010.</small>
*Makar Sankranti is one of the most important [[festivals]] of the [[w:Hindu calendar|Hindu calendar]] and celebrates the [[sun]]'s journey into the [[w:Northern hemisphere|northern hemisphere]], a period which is considered to be highly [[auspicious]].
*There is a wide variation in the celebration of Makar Sankranti thoughout [[India]], in particular the name.
*In [[w:Gujarat|Gujarat]] and [[w:Maharashtra|Maharashtra]], Makar Sankranti is a festival of the young and the old. Colourful [[kites]] are flown all around.
*In [[w:Punjab|Punjab]], Makar Sankranti is called [[w:Lohri|Lohri]]. December and January are the coldest months of the year in Punjab and huge [[w:Bonfires|bonfires]] are lit on the eve of Sankranti. Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown on the bonfires and friends and relatives gather together.
*In [[w:Uttar Pradesh|Uttar Pradesh]], this period is celebrated as Kicheri. It is considered important to have a bath on this day and masses of people can be seen bathing in the [[Sangam at [[w:Prayag|Prayagraj]] where the rivers [[w:Ganges|Ganga]], [[w:Yamuna River|Jamuna]] and [[w:Saraswathi|Saraswathi]] flow together.
*In [[w:South India|Southern India]] it's the harvest festival [[w:Pongal|Pongal]] and lasts for 3 days. On the first day, [[rice]] boiled with [[milk]] is offered to the Rain God. On the second day, it is offered to the the Sun God and on the third day, the family [[cattle]] are given a bath and dressed with flowers, bells and colours, to honour them for their hard work in the fields.
==External links==
{{Wikipedia}}
[[Category:Festivals]]
[[Category: India]]