Makar Sankranti

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Makar Sankranti is one of the most celebrated Hindu festivals in India, marking the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign Capricorn (Makara) as it moves toward the Northern Hemisphere. Known as the harvest festival, it signifies the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of longer days. The festival is celebrated across India with diverse traditions, including kite flying, bonfires, and traditional feasts.

Makar Sankranti is marked by men, women and children wearing colorful clothing; visiting near and dear ones; and exchanging pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried til, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram. On this auspicious day, people in Karnataka distribute Yellu and bella Sesame seeds and Jaggery and greet with the words "Ellu bella thindu, Olle Maathu Aadu" Eat sesame seeds and speak only good.. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings.

The harvest festival of Pongal is celebrated in different parts of the country but variations mark the way in which they are celebrated. In Karnataka the Festival of Pongal is celebrated with a lot of revelry. It is also known by the name of Sankranti. Friends and relatives visit one another to exchange greetings.A special dish is prepared on the occasion of Pongal in Karnataka. The ingredients of this sweet dish Ellu are coconut, sesame seeds and sugar. It is customary for the people to exchange this sweet dish with friends, relatives and neighbors. It is a token to show that hence forth the relationship will be as sweet as Ellu with no bitterness involved.

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Importance:

The northward movement of the sun begins on this day. The period from Karkasankrant (the passage of the sun into the zodiac sign of Cancer) to Makarsankrant is called the dakshinayan. A person who dies in the dakshinayan period has a greater chance of going to Yamalok (southward region), than one who dies during uttarayan (northward revolution).Importance from the point of view of spiritual practice: On this day, from sunrise to sunset, the environment has more chaitanya (Divine conscious-ness); hence those doing spiritual practice can benefit from this chaitanya.

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Offering:
Importance of making an offering during an auspicious period: The period from Makarsankrant to Rathsaptami is an auspicious period. Any donation and meritorious deeds in this period prove more fruitful.Substances offered: An offering of new vessels, clothing, food, sesame seeds, pot of sesame seeds, jaggery, a cow, a horse, gold or land should be made depending on the capability. On this day, married women also make some offering. They take things from unmarried girls and give them sesame seeds and jaggery in return. Married women organise a ceremony of haldi-kumkum (applying vermilion and turmeric to the forehead) and gift articles to other married women.

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