Makar Sankranti
- Also called:
- Makara Sankranti, Til Sankranti, Uttarayana (Uttarayan), Pongal, or Maghi
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Makar Sankranti, Hindu festival in January celebrating the entrance of the Sun into the astrological sign of makara (corresponding to Capricorn) and the beginning of the Sun’s uttarayana (northward journey). Makar Sankranti occurs on January 14 (or 15 during a leap year).
The Sun’s transit to the Northern Hemisphere is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Bhishma, the military commander of the Kauravas, is mortally wounded in the battle of Kurukshetra. Lying on a bed of arrows, he declares that he will give up his life when the Sun begins its northward journey.
Unlike most other Hindu holidays, which are determined according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, this festival is reckoned according to the solar calendar and thus falls on approximately the same day annually in the Gregorian calendar. In Hindu astrology (jyotisha), there is in every month a sankranti—the transition of the Sun into a new astrological sign. The entrance of the Sun into the sign of makara (a mythological crocodile-like creature), which roughly corresponds to the sign of Capricorn, is considered particularly auspicious, because it is popularly regarded as marking the beginning of the Sun’s northward course.
Makar Sankranti marks the entrance of the Sun into makara according to sidereal time, which is measured against stars, whereas solstices are reckoned according to tropical time, which is measured against the location of the Sun. Calculated against solar time, the winter solstice (December 21 or 22) marks the beginning of the Sun’s northward journey. Because of the precession of equinoxes, these two dates—the entrance of the Sun into the sign of makara and the beginning of the Sun’s northward journey—have separated. Makar Sankranti is a significant holiday for offerings to the Hindu Sun god, Surya, and for ritual bathing. It is also celebrated as a festival for the harvest of various winter crops.
Regional variations and customs
Makar Sankranti is celebrated across India in widely varying manners and with different names according to local traditions and languages. Eating sweets, bathing in bodies of water, and making intricate rangolis are typical celebratory practices for Makar Sankranti throughout India.
Because of the festival’s popular association with the northward course of the Sun, the name Uttarayan (northward journey) is used for the holiday in Gujarat state, where it is jubilantly celebrated by flying kites. Indeed, every year, the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat hosts the International Kite Festival to mark the occasion. Kite makers, fliers, and enthusiasts from different corners of India and the world gather at the event to showcase their visually stunning kites and their kite-flying skills.
In many parts of India, particularly in the Deccan, the holiday is associated with til (sesame seeds), which are eaten in sweets prepared with jaggery (a type of sugar), thus earning the holiday the nickname Til Sankranti in some regions. In Maharashtra people exchange tilgul, a sweet made with sesame and jaggery, and greet one another by saying, “Tilgul ghya, goad goad bola” (“Take the tilgul and speak sweetly”), a custom that urges people to spread kindness and compassion. Til is also a big part of the festivities in the eastern state of Bihar, where such desserts as tilkut and til ke laddoo are made especially for the occasion.
Makar Sankranti is a popular festival in the eastern state of West Bengal, where it is known as Poush (the 10th month of the Hindu calendar) Sankranti. A host of sweet dishes that use nabanna (“new grain,” referring to newly harvested rice) as the main ingredient, such as patishapta, pithe, and dudh puli, are made on that day. The beloved winter delicacy nolen gur (a type of jaggery extracted from the sap of date palm trees) is often added to these dishes.
In Punjab state the festival of Lohri is celebrated the day before Makar Sankranti. Bonfires are lit, and people sing and dance around them while offering food items such as popcorn, rewri (another sweet made with til and jaggery), and peanuts (groundnuts) to the fire as an act of gratitude toward the gods.
In Tamil Nadu state Makar Sankranti is called Pongal (“Full and Overflowing”). It is celebrated by heating a mixture of rice, sugar, and other ingredients in a pot until it boils over. In Kerala state, devotees of the god Ayyappan observe Makaravilakku with a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple.
Other names for the holiday in various regions of India include Maghi, Khichdi, and Pedda Panduga.
Other rituals and practices
Taking a dip in rivers or ponds is an important practice for Hindus on Makar Sankranti. The Ganges River is considered an especially auspicious place to bathe on this holiday, particularly off Sagar Island at Gangasagar, West Bengal, where the Ganges (Ganga) River system meets the sea (sagar) at the Bay of Bengal. Another important site for pilgrims to take a ritual bath on Makar Sankranti is in Prayagraj, where the Ganges meets the Yamuna River and the mythical Saraswati River, as part of the annual Magh Mela festival. Makar Sankranti at Prayagraj also inaugurates the ritual bathing for the Kumbh Mela festival, which takes place there every 12 years. In 2019 the festival attracted more than 200 million pilgrims over the span of several weeks.