As stated in lunar calendar, when sun starts moving from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in Pousha masa, it marks the beginning of harvest season. From then on the day’s start becoming longer and warmer. The period of Makara Sankranti is considered auspicious as Sun starts to move towards northern hemisphere.
According to Legends
Bhaghiratha performed great penance to bring River Ganga to the earth, for the redemption of his forefathers. According to another legend, Lord Vishnu killed all the asuras and buried their heads under the Mandara Parvata. From Makara Sankranti onwords Lord Surya visits his son Shani and spends one month time with him.
Makara Sankranti
Keeping all the spiritual importance aside, Sankranti could be a harvest pageant, discovered in an exceedingly massive manner among farmers. In Odisha Makara Chaula is ready to mark the occasion with new harvested rice, adding banana, jaggery, coconut and mixed together with clarified butter, tila, and chhena puddings, these are offered to God and Goddesses as an act of gratitude.
Makara Sankranti for Odisha is often termed as friendship day, once people select an acquaintance and think about him/her their best friend for a year. This tradition is typically followed in Western Odisha and is understood as Makara Basma. If a male chooses a male as his relief he can address him as Maharshad, and if a girls chooses another girls as a friend she’s going to address her as Makarathe throughout the year.
In Puri Lord Jagannath together with his siblings are wearing Makala Chaurashibesha. The deities are given special puja, and also the Makara Chaula is taken round the grounds of the temple, referred to as Makara or Nabankabeda. Individuals render sorts of rice-based sweet pithas, additionally to Makara Chaula.
In several areas, Makara melas are chiefly discovered at Dhabaleswar close to Cuttack, Hatakeshwar close to Atri in Khurdha, Makara Muni temple in Balasore. it’s celebrated with nice enthusiasm and joy within the areas of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Koraput, Sundargarh and Ganjam districts, wherever the social group population is that the majority. Kite flight is another important event of the day, youngsters and adults fly and revel in kites of assorted sorts, sizes and colors. Kite flying contests also are unionised in some locations.
