MAKAR SANKRANTI FESTIVAL FALLS ON THE DAY OF THE YEAR when the sun-considered the king of all grahas (planets)-is in the rasi (zodiac sign) known as Makar ( Capricorn ). This is considered the most beneficial rasi of the sun, and it is very auspicious. The calculations for determining Makar Sankranti are done according to the solar calendar. Therefore, Makar Sankranti always falls on 14 January according to the English calendar; It is usually the month of Magh of the Hindu calendar; the ‘Tith’ or the position of the moon keeps shifting because of the difference in calculations. Although Sankrant comes every month, the position of the ‘sun in Makar’ bestows the most punn (merit ) for those who abide by the rules of the festival-by bathing in the rivers or tanks, offering water to the sun god and giving thaan (charity). Such deeds earn special and lasting merit and assure one a place in heaven.

The faithful flock to the water sources (such as rivers, tanks or lakes) in all towns and villages. As the water levels in the rivers are low at this time of the year, the urchins of the town have a rollicking time. A mela is held on the banks of the rivers and tanks. Chaatwalas and ‘icecream walas’ display and sell their stuff, much to the delight of the kids. People from the upper classes usually avoid this type of bathing because of the fear of polluted waters, but the very religious do take the chance, because for them, the punn earned from the bath is greater than the danger of disease.

Makar Sankranti is a day of thaan ( giving) to the poor and needy. There are two festivals, Makar Sankranti and Nirjala Ekadashi (or Ekathshi), where the focus is on those persons who may be suffering hardships and cannot afford to celebrate. It is good to teach the children from the beginning that a thought for the less fortunate should always be there

and should be translated into action at least some time in the year religiously. Therefore Makar Sankranti and Nirjala Ekadashi are the two days ordained for such thaan. It of course does not absolve one from being kind and charitable all through the year, whenever the occasion or situation demands! A bit of compulsory goodness does not harm anyone.

On this festival day the thaan consists of the following:

All the items should be in the raw form except for the laddoos. The aforementioned list is for one individual only and portions must be made for everyone in the house.
The puja is performed in the morning. It need not be arranged in the puja room. No deity is required to be seated where the items for the thaan are kept. Since everyone in the house will be doing the thaan, it is best to arrange the required items in a big room or a verandah. The thaan can be done by each member separately and all need not sit together; the children can do it after they return from school. For the grown-ups even breakfast should be taken after the thaan has been done. The lady of the house supervising the thaan should be the one who eats only after the family members going for work have finished doing the thaan. As the arrangements are not very elaborate, no decoration or ornamentation need be done and no pujan of gods is necessary for an individual. Nevertheless, the puja room should be cleaned earlier on, some essence burnt and a lamp lit in front of the gods. This ritual should be carried out as it is done every day by the housewife.
Each individual is asked to sit in front of the portion set aside for him or her and the lady of the house or an elderly lady who knows the chant gives some water and rice in the cupped right palm of the individual who puts his or her first finger of the left hand into the water. The lady chants Addey, addey, paksha var – day of the week – Tith Makar Sankrant – name of the person – mansa ha khichri, laddoo, ghee, papad, namak, apne such chain ke liye Sri Krishna nimant. The water is taken round the relevant portion and dropped gracefully on the side (clockwise). The water is thus taken and dropped once more, this time without the chant. Then, the stuff is put aside to be given to the person for whom it is meant. One portion should be kept for the pandit who performs all the ceremonies of the household in times of need, i.e.,katha, marriages, and so on.
In times gone by, when the households were joint and large, people derived immense pleasure by celebrating the festival at home, especially the women. They celebrated Makar Sankranti with greater enthusiasm and more elaborate rituals than at present. A newly married girl would bring what they called urat for her in-laws – not only for her father-in-law and mother-in-law, but for all the elder married couples of her husband’s family. All these urats were not brought at one time. Two, three or four urats were brought in one year. This would continue for years, till she gave every couple in her husband’s family a urat. This urat included any mithai, fruit, meva, salty snacks, a big raws ka laddoo, and jalebis. Cosmetics were also brought for the younger sisters-in-law, all decorated beautiful in a thaal.
The manasana was done to one set only because after a thing is mansood (given away) the one doing it cannot partake of it. The second was for the girl herself. The chant for the manasna is the same as is done for the khichri, etc., except that another line is added as to the Paksh and Tith. On Makar Sankrant it could be either Krishna paksh (dark fortnight) or Sukul Paksh (moonlit fortnight) and chant is accordingly changed. With water and rice in the right hand and the first finger of the left hand in it, wearing the auspicious chunni and chonp on the forehead, the girl mansos with someone chanting ‘Addey addey-Paksha, Var…. Tith Makar Sankrant name (hers) and of the husband – ki bahu(wife of) mansan hain , Mandhi or Til-ke-laddoo apne raj suhag ke liye, rani ka sa raj dena, Gaur ka sa suhag dena, Sri Krishna nimant.’ The dropping the water after circling with it round the said items it is dropped gracefully on one side of the thaal. After touching the feet of the mother-in-law, the baya is given to her. The feet of all elder members are touched and blessings received. If someone would like to follow the old customs and make it a big occasion for the family, this would enliven the atmosphere as well as the people and bring them together.
Makar Sankranti is celebrated all over India, north, south, east and west; the manner of celebration may differ, but the sanctity of the occasion is accepted by all the Hindus as the Surya (sun) moves into the Northern hemisphere known as “Uttrayana” a most auspicious time.