Sankranthi Muggulu Designs (With Dots) – Special Designs

Sankranthi means Transmigration of the sun from one rashi to the next. It is an hindu festival Celebrated on Fourteenth of January every year.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 15 January.The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India and is a traditional event.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.In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun. Makara Sankranthi refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn.Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia with some regional variations.This season is offering plenty of crop to the farmers like grains, fruits & vegetables.

Makar Sankranti is the festival of thanks giving to nature for their Crop which make life possible on the Earth. Thus, the harvest festival of Pongal symbolizes the veneration of the first fruit. The crop is harvested only after a certain time of the year, and cutting the crop before that time is strictly prohibited. In Hindu temples bells, drums, clarinets and conch shells herald the joyous occasion of Pongal.

Some of the rituals performed in the temple include the preparation of rice, the chanting of prayers and the offering of vegetables, sugar cane and spices to the gods. Devotees then consume the offerings to exonerate themselves of past sins.The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life.

The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel – a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other’s homes, and exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic.In south India, all three days of Pongal are considered important. However, those south Indians who have settled in the north usually celebrate only the second day. Coinciding with Makara Sankranti and Lohri of the north, it is also called Pongal Sankranti.