Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival and is celebrated by Hindus on 14th January in the month of Magha in India. On this day the Sun returns to the Northern Hemisphere and passes from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn. It is celebrated differently in different parts of the State. In the sacred river of Ganges, people take dip in water and worship the Sun God to purify their souls. The festival signifies that one should eliminate from the darkness of deception and commence to enjoy a new life with brightness.
Makar Sankranti is known by various other names in different parts of India which are as follows:
1. Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh: Maghi
2. Tamil Nadu: Pongal
3. Rajasthan and Gujarat: Uttarayan
4. Assam Valley: Bhogali Bihu or Magh Bihu
5. Sabarimala Temple in Kerala: Makar Vilakku Festival
6. Bihar, Goa, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Orissa, Manipur, Sikkim, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra: Makar Sankranti or Sankranti.
7. Kashmir Valley: Shishur Saenkraat
It is celebrated by different names in some other countries also.
Cambodia: Moha Sangkra , Myanmar: Thingyan, ,Nepal: Maghi by Tharu people and Maghe Sankranti or Maghe Sakrati by others.
