Makar Sankranti 2023: Date, History, Significance, Story & more.

Makar Sankranti Quick Facts

History of Makar Sankranti

The festival of Makar Sankranti is celebrated in January. Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different forms across India. Sun God is specially worshipped, worshiped and pleased on Makar Sankranti. Apart from this, devotees also worship Lord Vishnu and Mother Lakshmi

Makar Sankranti is celebrated a day after Lohri. This is a Vedic festival, Khichdi is offered on this day. This festival is related to nature, season change and agriculture. Prasad of Jaggery, Sesame, Revdi, Gajak is distributed on this festival. Sun God is worshiped in this festival as the factor of nature, who has been called the soul of material and non-material elements in the scriptures. According to their condition, seasons change and the earth produces food grains, which provides sustenance to the living community. The biggest reason for celebrating this festival is that at this time new crops are harvested and the houses of farmers are filled with food grains. In this happiness, people worship food and cook and eat good food. Makar Sankranti marks the beginning of summer. In some regions of India, it lasts for more than one day, but in most places this festival is only for one day. This is a very important religious act and festival.

Story of Makar Sankranti

It is a belief of Makar Sankranti that on this day Lord Bhaskar himself goes to his house to meet his son Shani. Since Shani Dev is the lord of Capricorn, hence this day is known as Makar Sankranti. , On the day of Makar Sankranti, Ganga ji had met Bhagirath while going through Kapil Muni's hermitage in the ocean.

Greatness of Bhishma Pitamah: This story is related to Mahabharata. Bhishma Pitamah was the commander of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata. He kept his promise during the Mahabharata war and gave up his life in the month of Surya. He is remembered on the day of Makar Sankranti and the story of his greatness and loyalty is narrated.

The Legend of King Mahabali: This story is associated with Pongal, a festival celebrated on Makar Sankranti in many states of India. According to this legend, King Mahabali was considered the ruler of the gods. He worshiped Lord Vishnu, after which he was allowed to go to heaven. This narrative is addressed by throwing stars and with other efforts.

Significance of Makar Sankranti

The scientific significance of Makar Sankranti is that from this day the change in the nature begins after the Sun's Uttarayan. People shrinking due to cold start getting relief from the winter season due to the Uttarayan of the Sun. India is an agricultural country where the relation of festivals depends a lot on agriculture. Makar Sankranti comes at a time when farmers bring home Kharif crops, money, maize, sugarcane, groundnut, urad after planting rabi crops. The houses of the farmers are filled with food. That's why on Makar Sankranti, the joy of the festival is celebrated with Kharif crops.

How to celebrate Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti festival is considered a symbol of new beginnings. Sun God is specially worshipped, worshiped and pleased on Makar Sankranti. Apart from this, devotees also worship Lord Vishnu and Mother Lakshmi on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

Bathing and donation: On this day people take bath at sunrise, especially in a river, pond or ocean. Donations are done after bath, such as money, food, clothes etc. It is considered a symbol of good luck and prosperity.

Pooja and fasting: On the day of Makar Sankranti, Maa Ganga, Suryadev and Shivji are worshipped. Special prayers are offered in temples and people keep fasts and chant mantras.

Food of Khichdi: Food of Khichdi is considered important on Makar Sankranti. People make khichdi of sesame, jaggery, peanuts and maize on this day and share it with the whole family.

Kite flying: This is one of the major rituals that is celebrated on Makar Sankranti. People fly kites and take it to the sky. It is a symbol of happiness and prosperity of the Sun.

Celebration of Lohri: In some states, the festival of Lohri is celebrated on the day of Makar Sankranti. In this, people worship fire for the sake of hair and the environment, do dawati party, sing songs and distribute sweets.

Tradition and customs of Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is considered important for spiritual practices and accordingly, people take holy dips in rivers, especially the Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri. It is believed that taking a bath destroys virtue or past sins. They also pray to the Sun and thank him for their successes and prosperity. A shared cultural practice found among Hindus from different parts of India especially til (sesame) and sugar base like jaggery Despite the uniqueness and differences between individuals, this type of sweet symbolizes living together in peace and happiness Is.

For most parts of India, this period is a part of the rabi harvest and early stages of the agricultural cycle, where the crops have been sown and the hard work in the fields is mostly over. Thus this time marks a period of socialization and families enjoying each other's company, taking care of cattle and celebrating around bonfires, in Gujarat the festival is celebrated by flying kites.

More info about Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in different forms across India and Nepal. This festival is celebrated in the month of Pausha on the day when Sun enters Capricorn. In the present century, this festival falls on the hundredth or fifteenth day of the month of January, on this day the Sun leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricorn. In Tamil Nadu it is known as Pongal festival while in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh it is simply called Sankranti. In some districts of Bihar, this festival is also famous by the name of 'Tila Sankrant'. Makar Sankranti festival is also called 'Utrayan'. Scientifically the main reason for this is the tilt of the earth from north to south after a continuous time period of 6 months.

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