Makar Sankranti 2016 | Makarsankranti in 2016

Makar Sankranti in India

Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in a myriad of cultural forms. It is a harvest festival.

When is Makar Sankranti in 2016

Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India and is a traditional event. Makara Sankranthi is a solar event making one of the few Indian festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 13 or 15 January.

Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. Makara Sankranti commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makara in Sanskrit, this occasion is named as Makara Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals which are celebrated on a fixed date i.e. 14 January

Lord Surya is worshipped on the Makar Sankranti day and is a form of Nature Worship. A major event on the day is the bathing ritual at Sangam (confluence of Yamuna, Saraswati and Ganga) in Allahabad and also in the famous bathing ghats on River Ganga. Taking a holy dip on the day is considered to cleanse sins committed and this will lead to Moksha (Salvation).

Uttarayana Punyakalam, the day time of Devas, begins with the Makar Sankranti and lasts for six months. This period is ideal for all kind of auspicious activities.

Makar Sankranti is observed throughout India by all communities but with slight variations in the festivities. 

Sankranti 2016

Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in different parts of the country popularly celebrated in Karnataka (Sankranthi), Telangana (Sankranthi), Andhra pradesh (Sankranthi) and Tamil Nadu (Pongal).

In India Makar Sankranti it is known by different regional names.

• Makar Sankranti: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Odisha, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal
• Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal: Tamil Nadu
• Uttarayan: Gujarat
• Maghi: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The day before, people of Punjab celebrate Lohri.
• Bhogali Bihu: Assam
• Shishur Saenkraat: Kashmir Valley
• Khichdi: Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar
• Makara Sankramana: Karnataka

In other countries too the day is celebrated but under different names and in different ways.

• Nepal: Maghe Sankranti
  • Tharu people,

Maithali, Newar :- Maghe Sankranti

• Other people: Maghe Sankranti or Maghe Sakrati
• Thailand: Songkran
• Laos: Pi Ma Lao
• Myanmar: Thingyan
• Cambodia: Moha Sangkran
• Sri Lanka: Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal