DesiEvite Blog

Monday, January 11, 2016 | 9:51:00 AM

Makar Sankranti- A festival of  spreading love.

Introduction:

Makar Sankranti is a festival that signifies end of evil and spreading of love all around.Not only this, but Makar Sankranti gives immense pleasure and hope to our farmers as they expect new crops during this time. It is the sign for farmers that the sun is back and that harvest season is approaching . This day is considered to be one of the most important harvest day in India. Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over India, only the name of the festival differs.Like in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh,etc  its known as Makar Sankranti, in Tamil Nadu it is known as Pongal, in Gujarat it is known as Uttarayan.

The story behind this festival is Sankarasur .He  was very brutal indeed. And He started torturing and killing people. To finish off Sankarasur, Goddess Sankranti  appeared on the earth and killed Sankarasur. To celebrate the downfall of Sankarasur, people started to celebrate the festival called Sankranti.

Auspicious time of Makar Sankaranti in 2016

As we know Makar Sankaranti comes on 14th or 15th January every year.The date changes due to the rotation of the Sun.Hence following is the date and time of Makar Sankaranti in 2016

15th January 2016

Punya Kaal Muhurta = 07:13 to 12:43

Duration = 5 Hours 21 Mins
Sankranti Moment = 01:35

Mahapunya Kaal Muhurta = 07:13 to 09:03

Duration = 1 Hour 47 Mins

This auspicious time might slightly differ for different cities in India.

How Makar Sankranti is celebrated:

Makar Sankranti is the day when people spread love by distributing sweets and doing pooja.These sweets are normally made of sesame seeds. Before distributing sweets made out of sesame seeds, they should be kept in front of an  idol or a picture of a Deity on one’s altar. This helps to retain the power (Divine Energy) in the sweets.

In Gujarat the festival is celebrated by flying kites. This festival is also known as International Kite Festival

Posted By Beena