Makar Sankranti (Sanskrit: मकरसङ्क्रान्ति,Makarasaṅkrānti blog

 Makar(a) Sankranti (Sanskrit: मकरसङ्क्रान्ति, romanized: Makarasaṅkrānti),[1] also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually,[2][3][4] this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (dhanu) to Capricorn (makara).[5][2][6] Since the Sun is regarded to have moved from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere on this day in the Hindu calendar, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya,[7] and is observed to mark a new beginning.[8] Many native multi-day festivals are organised on this occasion all over India.

The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names Magh Bihu in Assam, Maghi in Punjab, Maghi Saaji in Himachal Pradesh, Maghi Sangrand or Uttarain (Uttarayana) in Jammu, Sakrat in Haryana, Sakraat in Rajasthan, Sukarat in central India, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayana in Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, Ghughuti in Uttarakhand, Dahi Chura in Bihar, Makar Sankranti in Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal (also called Poush Sankranti or Mokor Sonkranti), Uttar Pradesh (also called Khichidi Sankranti), Uttarakhand (also called Uttarayani) or as simply, Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,[9][10] Maghe Sankranti (Nepal), Songkran (Thailand), Thingyan (Myanmar), Mohan Songkran (Cambodia), Til Sakraait in Mithila, Maghe Sankranti Nepal, and Shishur Senkrath (Kashmir). On Makar Sankranti, the Sun god is worshipped along with Vishnu and goddess Lakshmi throughout India.[11]

Makar Sankranti is observed with social festivities such as colourful decorations, rural children going house to house, singing and asking for treats in some areas,[12] melas (fairs), dances, kite flying, bonfires and feasts.[10][13] The Magha Mela, according to Indologist Diana L. Eck, is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.[14] Many observers go to sacred rivers or lakes and bathe in a ceremony of thanks to the sun.[14] Every twelve years, the Hindus observe Makar Sankranti with Kumbha Mela – one of the world's largest mass pilgrimage, with an estimated 60 to 100 million people attending the event.[14][15][16] At this event, they say a prayer to the sun and bathe at the Prayagaraj confluence of the River Ganga and River Yamuna,[14] a tradition attributed to Adi Shankaracharya.[17]