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.
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