Makar Sankranti also called as Uttarayana or simply Sankranti is a festival that is commonly celebrated every year on January 14 or January 15 on a leap year. According to the Gregorian Calendar, it is a festival that is devoted to the deity Surya and is celebrated annually in the lunar month of Magha which corresponds with the month of January. It also marks the first day of the sun’s transit into Makara Rashi (Capricorn) which also indicates the end of the winter season.

Makar Sankranti is related to several names such as Lohri in Punjab, Magh Bihu in Assam, Maghi Saaji in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, Magha Sankranti in Nepal, Makara Sangrand in Jammu, Makara Sankranti in Kerala, Mokor Sonkranti and Poush Sankranti in Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Odisha, Uttarayana in Gujrat, Peddha Panduga or Sankranthi in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Khichidi Sankranti in Uttar Pradesh, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and many more.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated with several social activities such as bonfires, kite flying, melas (fairs), colorful decorations, dances, and feasts. Several individuals observe this festival by visiting to bathe in the water or lakes of sacred rivers like Ganga in a ceremony of thanks to the Sun.

Happy Makar Sankranti to all my dear friends