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Ganeshprasad
14 January 2011, 05:10 AM
Pranam all

Celebrate Makar Sankranti With Spirit Of Reaching High In Blue Sky... to welcome the Sun...the kite fly high in the sky... Happy Uttrayan...!!!

The Great Bhisma Pita waited for this day to leave his body lying on the bed off arrows.

Makar Sankranti or Sankranthi Significance, Details, Introduction, Festival, Recipes, Dishes, Greeti (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Filoveindiaa.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fmakar-sankranti-or-sankranthi.html&h=a5d5a)

Jai Shree Krishna

Believer
14 January 2011, 10:13 AM
Happy Makkar Sankranti to all. What an auspicious day!
Thanks Ganeshji for reminding us all about its arrival.

The link in the above post states, 'According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn.'

Please note that this is the only Hindu festival which is NOT computed per the Lunar calender and falls on Jan 14th every year. Also the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn are two circles of altitudes and do not encompass areas. Transition into the Makkar rashi (change of zodiac sign to Capricorn) occurs on this day. It is NOT the start of its Northward journey, which starts on winter solstice, Dec 21. The scientist in me wanted to point out these facts for those who care. I hope I got all that right?

Sahasranama
14 January 2011, 10:39 AM
15 Jan 2011
SaturdayEkadasi, G, 08:43 , Krittika
+SUDDHA EKADASI VRATA: FASTING FOR Putrada EKADASI
+Makar Sankranti ~ Celebration of Sun entering Capricorn
+Ganga Sagar Snana Mela (bathing in Ganga)


http://www.purebhakti.com/resources/vaisnava-calendar-mainmenu-71.html


Here it says 15 januari? :dunno:

Ganeshprasad
14 January 2011, 03:49 PM
Pranam Believer ji

Nice observant, yes you are absolutely correct this is the only religious day that does not follow Hindu lunar calendar that is because it is a solar event, it invariably falls on the 14th Jan sometimes it could be 15th when the winter equinox is calculated for the 22nd dec.
Now the question off Uttrayan (northward journey) for what ever reason is fixed in the middle of Jan by Hindus must have a logical reason. Why ? I do not know do I question it ? No way.

Jai Shree Krishna

devotee
14 January 2011, 07:49 PM
Thanks for your greetings, Ganeshprasad ji ! :) I too join you in wishing everyone here a Very Happy Makar Sankranti/Bihu/Lohri/Pongal !

Let me remind to people who may be interested : This day is celebrated by different names in different parts of India.

i) It is called Bhogaali Bihu in Assam and adjoining areas. People prepare Peethas of various varieties a day before & share it with their friends and relatives on the Bihu day. They make Uruka (Bon-fire) and burn it (just like Holika Dahan) and sing and dance around it. They visit their sister's home with Peethas and other delicious sweetmeats.

ii) It is called Makar Sankranti in North India. People take bath early in the morning in a nearby river/pond and perform Pooja. Hundreds of thousands of devotees gather today at Sangam (Allahabad), Hardwar and Ganga Sagar (Kolkata, at the meeting point of the Ganges and the Sea) for taking a holy dip. People indulge in various merry making activities on this day ... like flying Kites, setting up village fairs, eating Chira (flattened rice)-curd-sweetmeat made of sesame and sugar (called tilkut/gazak).

iii) It is celebrated as Lohri in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and the other adjoining areas. People make bon-fire and sing & dance around the fire in groups. They also share various home-made cookies.

iv) It is celebrated as Pongal in Tamilnadu and other adjoining areas. People gather in groups to celebrate Pongal. New Rice is boiled in a new pot till it boils over. This is symbolic of a good bountiful harvest. The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic.

OM

Ganeshprasad
16 January 2011, 08:23 AM
Pranam Devotee ji


This day is celebrated by different names in different parts of India.

OM

You mentioned kites briefly which i would like to expand on it a bit more, it is called Patang in Gujarati. it is here in Gujarat that this festival is followed with great zeal.
Patang is another name for sun also a butterfly, one can easily make the connection. the idea is to fly the patang reaching out to the sun, what site to behold in Ahmadabad, i have missed it by few day still they would be flying around when i arrive tomorrow.

Jai Shree Krishna

PARAM
16 January 2011, 09:18 AM
Thanks for your greetings, Ganeshprasad ji ! :) I too join you in wishing everyone here a Very Happy Makar Sankranti/Bihu/Lohri/Pongal !

:)



Let me remind to people who may be interested : This day is celebrated by different names in different parts of India.


iii) It is celebrated as Lohri in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and the other adjoining areas. People make bon-fire and sing & dance around the fire in groups. They also share various home-made cookies.


No Lohri and Makar Sankranti are different, and no home made cookies are traditionally shared, it is optional, traditionally popcorns, peanuts and revdi are shared and also offered to agni. Lohri is a fire worship, "makha" means fire so there may be some similarity, but both are celibrated differently.

devotee
16 January 2011, 09:37 AM
No Lohri and Makar Sankranti are different, and no home made cookies are traditionally shared, it is optional, traditionally popcorns, peanuts and revdi are shared and also offered to agni. Lohri is a fire worship, "makha" means fire so there may be some similarity, but both are celibrated differently.

Thanks for improvement with your valuable input, Param ! :)

Actually, that way, all the four festivals are different from each other ! Makar Sankranti is not Lohri, Bihu is not Makar Sankranti or Lohri and Pongal too is not Makar Sankranti or Lohri or Bihu. What I was trying to emphasize that all the four festivals are celebrated almost on the same day or a day later. This is basically the transition of Sun marking the end of winter and related somehow with worshiping God (in one or the other form ... might have started for a good harvest) and is celebrated in one or the other form throughout India.

OM

Eastern Mind
16 January 2011, 10:11 AM
iv) It is celebrated as Pongal in Tamilnadu and other adjoining areas. People gather in groups to celebrate Pongal. New Rice is boiled in a new pot till it boils over. This is symbolic of a good bountiful harvest.

OM

Vannakkam: I'm keen to find out how it went here this year. We have a core group of about 4 men who do it outside the front of the temple with fervor each year regardless of weather. Since it was -30 or so, I'm curious if the steam was so bad you couldn't see the pot, as in some years past. The poor priest in dhoti probably did a particularly quick aarti. They were also missing their honorary real farmer. I'll find out soon enough I guess.

Hope everyone who partook of any of these great variations had a jolly time.

Aum Namasivaya

Ganeshprasad
13 January 2014, 10:04 AM
Pranam

Happy Makar Sankranti tomorrow 14th Jan.

http://www.db18.com/d/makar_sankranti/makar_sankranti_011.jpg (http://www.db18.com/makar-sankranti/makar-sankranti-2/)

Jai Shree Krishna

isavasya
13 January 2014, 03:05 PM
Dear ganeshprasad ji,
Thanks for the wishes. Makar Sakranti is a festival related to farmers and celebrated by all parts of India under various names. I grew up in Bihar where we used to have Chuda-Dahi-Tilkut as breakfast on the morning of Sakrat. I had my graduation in Delhi, where they celebrated night of 13th january as Lohri, in which people get out of their house and do certain fire ritual.

I wish Makar sakranti, Lohri, Pongal or whatever one calls it to everyone. Have a great time.

Eastern Mind
13 January 2014, 04:01 PM
Vannakkam: I concur. Happy Makar Sankranti, etc. to all. Here we are having a relative heat wave, so it'll be only -2 or so tomorrow morning, which sure beats -30. As usual, it'll be a joyous event.

Aum Namasivaya

Jaskaran Singh
13 January 2014, 05:00 PM
Vannakkam: I concur. Happy Makar Sankranti, etc. to all. Here we are having a relative heat wave, so it'll be only -2 or so tomorrow morning, which sure beats -30. As usual, it'll be a joyous event.

Aum Namasivaya
Seriously, -30 C? I've visited New Foundland and also Ontario (Toronto, to be specific, my great aunt [who recently passed away] lived there), but it's never quite gotten THAT cold when I was in Canada. What part of Canada do you live in? Sheesh...

Eastern Mind
13 January 2014, 05:26 PM
Seriously, -30 C? I've visited New Foundland and also Ontario (Toronto, to be specific, my great aunt [who recently passed away] lived there), but it's never quite gotten THAT cold when I was in Canada. What part of Canada do you live in? Sheesh...

Vannakkam: I'm in Edmonton. Yes it can get cold here. http://past.theweathernetwork.com/news/storm_watch_stories3&stormfile=bccold_12_12_2008

That was just 5 years ago. But we also have a weird warm wind called the chinook wind that comes over the Rockys. In a matter of 24 hours it can go from -40 to +10. Two years ago it was around -30 for Pongal. I don't know for last year, because I was in Mauritius and it was around +34 or so.

Eastern Canada has is closer to large water which makes everything slightly more consistent.

Pongal is very strange in the extreme cold, because you can't see the boiling pot for the steam. :) Only the hardy and the foolhardy persist.

Aum Namasivaya

devotee
13 January 2014, 10:02 PM
Thank you Ganesh Prasad ji ! I wish Happy Makar Sankranti to all fellow forum members.

OM

Amrut
14 January 2014, 04:31 AM
KAipOccE :D

Happy makar sankranti to all.

Hari OM

Obelisk
14 January 2014, 12:42 PM
Happy Makar Sankranti to all! :)

Believer
14 January 2014, 02:13 PM
Namaste,

A very joyous and blessed Makar Sankranti to all. Hope the Punjabis had a nice time singing at the Lohri festival last evening/night (sundar mundariye...ho....) around the ceremonial fire.

Here is its significance and how it is celebrated in different parts of India and in other South Asian countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makar_Sankranti

Namaste.

yajvan
14 January 2014, 03:52 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté

Today is makara saṃkrānti :


makara the 10th sign of the zodiac (capricorn)
saṃkrānti going from one place to another , course or passage or entry into , transference to
This day is also called uttarāyaṇa-saṃkrānti. It is the day the sun (sūrya) begins its northern path or movement.
North is that of the deva-s and south is considered the ~night~ of the deva-s.
The sun or sūrya is the ātma-kāraka representing the Self of all on this good earth. This motion or path of the ātma kāraka to the north indicates it rise, and then its fulfillment¹ that occurs when it brought to its height in aries ( where it is exalted).
So, said another way it is uplifting the light or pure awareness in us. That is, it is the support from the universe to assist one-and-all to the unfoldment of this pure awareness ( the Self) in ones own being.
It is said on this day ( and in general the northern path of the sun) is more conducive to:

spiritual pursuits
gaining knowledge, purity and wisdom
better relationships/ harmony with father and son
promoting the evolutionary tendencies in life (dharma)
iti śivaṁ

1. pratijñā - to promise fulfilment of a person's word

Ganeshprasad
14 January 2014, 05:07 PM
hariḥ oṁ

This day is also called uttarāyaṇa-saṃkrānti. It is the day the sun (sūrya) begins its northern path or movement.
North is that of the deva-s and south is considered the ~night~ of the deva-s.
--.
It is said on this day ( and in general the northern path of the sun) is more conducive to:
spiritual pursuits




Bhismapita stayed on the bed of arrows for several days waiting for this moment to leave his mortal body

Jai Shree Krishna

Believer
14 January 2014, 08:58 PM
Namaste,

I have seen this,

It is the day the sun (sūrya) begins its northern path or movement.
repeated many times, but have not been able to get a satisfactory explanation of why this is considered so. As we know the sun starts its northward journey on winter solstice (Dec 21-22), and Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the sun into the Capricorn constellation.

Pranam.

Jaskaran Singh
14 January 2014, 10:35 PM
I would like to clarify something which the Wikipedia article (on the link given by Believer) doesn't mention. Usually, punjAbI-s also throw the mUNgfalI (peanut) shells into the campfire on lohri. Then again, that may just be specific to the gurdwAra I go to, :p.


In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Makar Sankranti and is celebrated as Lohri. Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant (Sangrand), is celebrated as Maghi. Bathing in any river in the early hours on Maghi is important. Hindus light lamps with sesame oil as this is supposed to give prosperity and drive away all sins. The Punjabis dance their famous dance known as "bhangra". Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion. It is traditional to eat "kheer", rice cooked in milk and sugar. The parshada often includes popcorn.[citation needed]

Viraja
15 January 2014, 06:46 PM
Happy Makar Sankaranti to all forum members!

Today Tamilians celebrate 'Kanu pongal' and we offered colored rices to the crow. Some Tamilians make Tamarind rice and Avial for offering to the god today.

On that I have a question: is it ok to offer 'Drumsticks' in the food prepared for god? (Or it should be avoided like onions and garlic?).

Sivathondu
17 January 2015, 09:20 AM
Namaste,

I have seen this,

repeated many times, but have not been able to get a satisfactory explanation of why this is considered so. As we know the sun starts its northward journey on winter solstice (Dec 21-22), and Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the sun into the Capricorn constellation.

Pranam.

Greetings,
Kauai's Hindu Monastery celebrates Makar Sankranti on 21 December. The explanation for why can be seen here (http://www.himalayanacademy.com/blog/taka/2015/01/14/astrologer-interviews-bodhinatha-on-camera/), where Sam Geppi interviews Satguru Bodhinatha. Sam Geppi goes into more detail here (http://vedicartandscience.com/winter-solstice-end-of-mayan-calendar-makar-sankranti/).