Makar Sankranti will be celebrated across the country on January 15, Wednesday. One of the most ancient Hindu festivals, Makar Sankranti is dedicated to the sun god. People take holy dip in the rivers and offer prayer to sun god as part of Makar Sankranti puja.
Apart from this, Makar Sankranti puja is performed by breaking coconut, sprinkling gangajal and lighting diyas. Surya mantras are chanted during the Makar Sankranti puja.
Makar Sankranti marks the beginning of auspicious six-month long Uttarayan period and longer days. The festival celebrates the transition of the sun into the northern hemisphere. People offer sweets and delicacies and fly kites on this occasion.
The day sees a colourful kites in the sky and people enjoy the soothing winter sun on their roofs. Delicacies served on Makar Sankranti include til ladoo, gajjak.
Kite flying is mostly done with much fanfare in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. People in Gujarat start making kites, months before the festival. Gujarat organises the International Kite Festival on Makar Sankranti. This year’s kite festival was inaugurated by by Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat and CM Vijay Rupani at Sabarmati Riverfront on January 7.
People clean their houses and decorate them with flowers on Makar Sankranti. Colourful rangolis are made on entrances and doorways of houses.
Fairs are also organized across the country. The most famous of them is, of course, the Kumbh Mela, held at Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain or Nashik every 12 years.
Comments
0 comment