Art & Culture in India

1. Makar Sankranti
 On leap years it falls on 15 January,
otherwise on 14 January.
 It marks the first day of the sun's transit
into Makara rashi (Capricorn).
 This festival is dedicated to the Hindu
religious sun god Surya.

2. Various Names in India
 Uttarayan in Gujarat, Uttarakhand
 Shishur Sankrant in Kashmir
 Maghi in Hariyana, Himachal, Punjab
 Bhogali Bihu in Assam
 Pausha Sankranti in West Bengal
 Makar Sankraman in Karnataka

3. Various Names Out of India
 Pausha Sankranti in Bangladesh
 Maghe / Khichadi Sankrant in
Nepal
 Songkaran in Thailand
 Pongal in Shri Lanka

4. Which god is worshiped?
 On Makar Sankranti the Sun god is
worshipped along with Lord Vishnu and
goddess Lakshmi throughout India.

5. How it is celebrated?
 Melas (fairs), dances, kite flying, bonfires and
feasts.
 Many devotees go to sacred rivers or lakes
and bathe in a ceremony of thanks to the
sun.
 Every twelve years, the Hindus
observe Makar Sankranti with Kumbha
Mela – one of the world's largest mass
pilgrimage.

6. Feast of Makar Sankranti
 Sweets particularly from sesame (til) and a
sugar base such as jaggery (gud, gur) and
multicolored sugar halwa are exchanged and
eaten on Makar Sankranti.

7. Significance
 For most parts of India, this period is a part of
early stages of the Rabi crop and agricultural
cycle, where crops have been sown and the
hard work in the fields is mostly over.
 People celebrate by flying kites in the sky.

8. The End