Makara Sankranti

In Sanskrit, Makara Sankranti means the time when the sun crosses the tropic of Capricorn. The day is of special significance to all those leading the spiritual life and mention has been made of this commencement of this new period in such scriptures as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The sun comes to the North, energizing and invigorating all life wherever it is, and on whatever he sheds his light. In esoteric parlance, in mystic terminology, the sun is regarded as the presiding deity over the self of man, while the moon is the presiding deity over the mind of man. The self or the soul is different from the mind; the Atman and the Manas are differentiated by their metaphysical and psychological characteristics, respectively.

The self of man is presided over by the Sun or Surya. The Sun is designated as Atma-Karaka. "Surya Atma Jagatas Tasthushascha" says the Veda. The Rig-Veda proclaims the spiritual presiding principle in the Sun as the invigorator, energizer of the selves of all created beings. That is the meaning of the Vedic prayer mentioned above. Of all the things that move and do not move, of all that is organic or inorganic, of everything in creation, the solar principle is the self, as it were, the pivot round which all individual energies revolve. We live by the Sun and die if the Sun is not to be. Spiritually envisaged, esoterically conceived, the Sun is not merely a huge orb of atomic energy as the physicists would tell us, but a radiant mass of life-giving vitality to everyone. The sun is not merely a heating principle, like an electric heater or a fire-like burning mass, or a huge conflagration of fire, because these cannot give you that energy which the Sun supplies to you.

Tomorrow is uttrayan festival.

Makara Sankranti is one of the few ancient Indian festivals that has been observed according to solar cycles, while most festivals are set by the lunar cycle of the lunar Hindu calendar. Being a festival that celebrates the solar cycle, it almost always falls on the same Gregorian date every year (January 14), except in some years when the date shifts by a day for that year. The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names such as Maghi (preceded by Lohri) by north Indian Hindus and Sikhs, Makara Sankranti (Pedda Pandaga) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Sukarat in central India, Magh Bihu by Assamese, and Pongal by Tamils.

Source: Wikipedia