Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in a myriad of cultural forms. It is a harvest festival.
Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India and is a traditional event. Makara Sankranti is a solar event making one of the few Indian festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 13 or 15 January.
Sankranti is celebrated all over South Asia with some regional variations. It is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in different parts of the country popularly celebrated in Karnataka (Sankranti), Telangana (Sankranti), Andhra pradesh (Sankranti) and Tamil Nadu (Pongal).
In India it is known by different regional names.
1. Makar Sankranti
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Chhattisgarh
Goa
Odisha
Haryana
Bihar
Jharkhand
Andhra Pradesh
Telangana
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
2. Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal
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Tamil Nadu
3. Uttarayan
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Gujarat
4. Maghi
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Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Punjab (The day before, people of Punjab celebrate Lohri)
5. Bhogali Bihu
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Assam
6. Shishur Saenkraat
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Kashmir Valley
7. Khichdi
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Uttar Pradesh
western Bihar
8. Makara Sankramana
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Karnataka
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In other countries too the day is celebrated but under different names and in different ways.
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Nepal: Maghe Sankranti
Tharu people, Maithali, Newar :- Maghe Sankranti
Thailand: สงกรานต์ Songkran
Laos: Pi Ma Lao
Myanmar: Thingyan
Cambodia: Moha Sangkran
Sri Lanka: Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal
Many melas or fairs are held on Makara Sankranti the most famous being the Kumbha Mela, held every 12 years at one of four holy locations, namely Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Nashik. The Magha Mela (or mini-Kumbh Mela held annually at Prayag) and the Gangasagar Mela (held at the head of the Ganges River, where it flows into the Bay of Bengal). Makara Mela in Odisha. Tusu Mela also called as Tusu Porab is celebrated in many parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal.
