The people of India celebrate Makar Sankranti in many names, in
different forms and ways. With the northward
ascent of the sun indicating the end of a hard and cold winter, the eginning of spring and the farming season, this festival is
eagerly awaited by the farmers. Sun worship is
universal, as is the giving of gifts to invoke prosperity and bountiful
harvests.
In North India, ,millions of people take a dip in holy places like
Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to the
Sun god to grant them prosperity and bountiful harvests. Gujarati’s not only
look reverentially up to the sun, but also
offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. In the South, it is
celebrated with pomp and pageantry as Sankranti
and Pongal, and in Punjab, as Lohri & Maghi.
Sun worship is a very common part of all celebrations. For Hindus,
the Sun represents Pratyaksha-Brahman – the
manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. The
Sun transcends time and is also the one who
rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. Thus, his northward journey is
universally
awaited.
The use of til (sesame) is another common aspect of all
celebrations. Til is a high energy food,
and keeps the body warm, especially important since the festival is celebrated
in mid winter. With the start of spring being
heralded by winds, kite flying is a pastime that forms a common part of celebrations in North and West India.
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