Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Celebrating Makar Sankranti

Celebrating Makar Sankranti

Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti means transition. The period of Makar Sankranti is known as the most auspicious time and the veteran Bhisma of Mahabharata chose to die during this period. Bhisma fell to the arrow of Arjuna. With his boon to time of his death, he waited on the bed with full of arrows to depart from this world during this world. So it is believed that any person who dies in this period will never have a rebirth.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated throughout India as a harvesting festival. It is like giving a thanks to the nature as it help a man for living. This is the period when winter ends and summer begins and it is also the season when farers harvest their new seed. In the coastal areas, it is the harvesting festival which is dedicated to Indra and people take a ritual bath on this day in the river.

People in this festival eat khichri and give away to poor people as charity. In Maharashtra, people celebrate with great respect as special dish like tilgul and ladoos are made from jiggery and sesame seed. In Gujarat, people celebrate it by flying Kites. Different cities of India, name Makar Sankranti as Pongal in Tamil Nadu and Lohri in Punjab.

In Punjab, people celebrate this festival in form of Lohri in which people lit bonfire and dance around it. In Bundelkhnad and Madhya Pradesh, it is celebrated as Sukarat, with great pomp and give lot of sweet among people. In south India, this festival is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu and very popular among farmers and people worship sun.

This festival is known to be most auspicious and whole people come together to celebrate this festival. The message this festival spread is of brotherhood.

Tags: Celebrating Makar Sankranti Celebrations in India

No comments: