Makar Sankranti, the Sun's Northward Journey

Makar Sankranti is the day the Sun enters Makara, the sign of Capricorn, and begins its journey northward. It is one of the few Hindu festivals that follows the solar calendar rather than the lunar one. Most festivals move from year to year against the Gregorian calendar because they follow lunar days. Sankranti stays close to 14 January, and falls on 15 January in some years of the leap-year cycle.

The Sun's northward course is called Uttarayana, and its southward half is called Dakshinayana. The winter solstice itself comes around 21 December. The traditional zodiac is sidereal, measured against the fixed stars rather than the seasons, so the Sun's entry into Makara arrives several weeks later. For centuries the village calendar has treated this day as the real turning of the season, when the days grow visibly longer and the winter crops stand ready for the sickle.

The Bhagavad Gita gives the Sun's northward course a place in its teaching on departure from this life. In verse 8.24, Krishna names fire, light, daytime, the bright fortnight and the six months of the northern course as the way by which those who know Brahman go to Brahman. In verse 8.25 he names smoke, night, the dark fortnight and the six months of the southern course as the way of return. Many commentators read these words as pointing to the powers that preside over each stage of the path as well as to times of day and year. Either way, the verses explain why Uttarayana has long been called the auspicious half of the year.

The Mahabharata gives this belief its most famous scene. Bhishma, fallen on the field of Kurukshetra, lies on a bed of arrows. He holds the boon of choosing the hour of his own death, and he does not use it until the Sun turns north. In section 167 of the Anushasana Parva, in the Ganguli translation, Kisari Mohan Ganguli's well-known English rendering of the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira comes to him after the war. Bhishma tells him that the Sun has begun its northward course. He says he has lain on the arrows for fifty-eight nights, and he notes that the month of Magha has come and that a quarter of its bright fortnight has passed. He then gives his last counsel and takes leave of those around him.

Another tradition holds that on this day Surya visits the house of his son Shani, identified with the planet Saturn. In Indian astrology Makara is the sign ruled by Saturn, so the Sun is said to enter his son's home. The story speaks of a long estrangement between father and son. Families tell it as a lesson in reconciliation, in which old grievances are set aside and a father's visit is received with warmth.

Above all, Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival that marks the reaping of winter crops across the subcontinent. Devotees bathe in sacred rivers such as the Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari and Kaveri, believing that the holiness of the day multiplies the merit of the bath. Great gatherings form at Prayag for the Magha Mela and at Gangasagar, where the Ganga meets the Bay of Bengal. Giving in charity is part of the day, and in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar it is also called Khichdi, after the rice and lentil dish that is cooked and shared.

Sweets made from til, sesame, and gud, jaggery, are prepared and exchanged. Both are harvested at this time of year, and both bring warmth and nourishment in the last cold weeks of winter. In Maharashtra the exchange comes with the words "til-gud ghya, god god bola". They mean "take this sesame and jaggery, and speak sweetly". It is a small instruction toward kindness that outlives any single recipe.

The same solar and agricultural core wears different faces across the country. In Gujarat, Uttarayan fills the sky with kites. In Tamil Nadu, Pongal centres on a pot of rice that is allowed to boil over as a sign of abundance. In Assam, Magh Bihu is celebrated with feasting after the harvest. In Punjab, Lohri gathers communities around bonfires on the night before.

Each form carries the same meaning. It is gratitude to the Sun for sustaining the harvest and hope for the brightening days ahead. A devotee who rises early to bathe, shares sweets with a neighbour and offers water to the Sun is keeping the festival in its simplest and oldest form.