Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti, Hindu festival in January celebrating the entrance of the sun into the astrological sign of makara (corresponding to Capricorn) and the beginning of the sun’s uttarayana (northward journey).

Makar Sankranti occurs on January 14 (or 15 during a leap year). Unlike most other holidays in Hinduism that are determined according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, this festival is reckoned according to the solar calendar and thus falls on approximately the same day annually in the Gregorian calendar. In Hindu astrology (jyotisha), there is in every month a sankranti—the transition of the sun into a new astrological sign. The entrance of the sun into the sign of makara (a mythological crocodile-like creature), which roughly corresponds to the sign of Capricorn, is considered particularly auspicious because it marks the beginning of the sun’s northward course. Makar Sankranti is a significant holiday for offerings to the Hindu sun god, Surya, and is observed by ritual bathing. It is also celebrated as a harvest festival for the harvest of various winter crops.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in widely varying manners and with different names across India according to local traditions and languages. Eating sweets, bathing in bodies of water, and making intricate rangolis are the typical celebratory practices for Makar Sankranti across India. Because of its association with the northward course of the sun, the name Uttarayan (northward journey) is used for the holiday in Gujarat state, where it is jubilantly celebrated by flying kites. In Tamil Nadu state, it is called Pongal (Tamil: “Full and Overflowing”) and is celebrated by heating a mixture of rice, sugar, and other ingredients in a pot until it boils over. In Kerala state, devotees of the god Ayyappan observe Makaravilakku with a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala temple. In many parts of India, particularly in the Deccan, the holiday is associated with til (sesame seeds), which are eaten in sweets prepared with jaggery (a type of sugar), thus earning the holiday the nickname Til Sankranti in some regions. In Punjab state, the day before Makar Sankranti, called Lohri (or Lohari), is celebrated with bonfires. Other names for the holiday in various regions of India include Maghi, Khichdi, and Poush Parbon, among many others.

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Taking a dip in rivers or ponds is an important practice for Hindus on Makar Sankranti. The Ganges River is considered an especially auspicious place to bathe on this holiday, particularly at Gangasagar—where the Ganges (Ganga) River system meets the sea (sagar) at the Bay of Bengal—on Sagar Island in West Bengal. Another important site for pilgrims to take a ritual bath on Makar Sankranti is in Prayagraj, where the Ganges meets the Yamuna River and the mythical Saraswati River, as part of the annual Magh Mela festival. Makar Sankranti at Prayagraj also inaugurates the ritual bathing for the Kumbh Mela festival, which takes place at that location every 12 years and in 2019 attracted more than 200 million pilgrims over the span of several weeks.