Happy Makar Sankranti/Pongal/Lohri

Happy Makar Sankranti all my dear PRCians!

I believe this holiday is for the arrival of spring....
but I know about it because of all the Laddus my grandma makes...

and here its not the arrival of spring at all....its time for snow...

but I am sure you all will enjoy the holiday in India!

happy makar sankranti everyone.... 😛 😛 😉

Happy Makarsankranti... to all ma forum friends......... 😃

those who don't know abt this festival a short description abt it for u all

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.

Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too. No Sundays for the Sun, may be because one who revels in its very 'being', the very essence of his own Self, is always in the Sunday mood.

The co-relation of cosmic events with individual life and values is one of the most astounding traits of Hindu Masters. Once this co-relation is brought about thereafter these cosmic events become instrumental to remind us the best which we cherish & value. Of all the cosmic bodies Sun is the most glorious & important, thus every sun-centric cosmic event became very important spiritual, religious & cultural events. On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, and thus it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness.


In Maharashtra:
In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – 'til-gul ghya, god god bola' meaning 'accept these tilguls and speak sweet words'. The under-lying thought in the exchange of tilguls is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get-together called 'Haldi-Kumkum' and given gifts of any utensil, which the woman of the house purchases on that day.

In Punjab

In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant and which is celebrated as "LOHARI". Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant, is celebrated as MAGHI. The Punjabi's dance their famous Bhangra dance till they get exhausted. Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion.

Any way's
Til gul ghya ani god god bola.... 😳
😛

Thanks miraclemum
for creating this thread
coz otherwise i was suppose to create it but in d evening... 😳

Thanks soo much for the history and info Rashi... 👏

actually I do not eat the sesamse seed laddus because they have brown sugar and I despise brown sugar so in my family we make the other type of laddus....I dont know what they are made out of...they are white looking large laddus... 😳 😳

Mansi, there r hundred types of laddus.......... I dont like them 🤢 ........ except tht moti choor wala 😊

Originally posted by: arshitgupta

Mansi, there r hundred types of laddus.......... I dont like them 🤢 ........ except tht moti choor wala 😊

I love moti choor ka laddu....absolutely amazing...but isnt that laddu for ganesh chauth?

Originally posted by: miraclemun

I love moti choor ka laddu....absolutely amazing...but isnt that laddu for ganesh chauth?

may be..... but one can eat them anytime, he/she wants😃

Happy Makarsankranti to all!!
😛 thnx to rashi for tht gr8 info. 😃 n to mansi for making this topic. 😊
i'll add abt Gujarat:
its popularly celebrated as Uttarayan, the famous Kite festival, where almost everyone is on a holiday n on the terrace flying kites, n eating 'undhiyu' (a mix veggie kind of item, puries, n jalebis. 😛 people even take their stereos on terrace n play loud music. 😉
Sometimes two kite flyers have a competition in air, n w/ all sort of tricks of kite flying, the winner succeeds in cutting the others's thread, n letting his/her kite loose in d air. d winner then shouts phrases like "kaapiyo chhe"-means 'i have cut it' n "lappett"-means 'wind it back'. (remember Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 😉 )its all part of the fun.
At night, people tie lanterns to kite n fly the kite, making the lanterns also fly in sky. its such a wonderful sight. 😳
Uttarayan is such a fun-filled, beautiful festival where the sky is filled w/ all the beautiful, bright kites at day, lanterns in night 👏 , n eating n eating all time. 😆
so, happy festive time to everyone w/ their unique styles, but just one goal--ENJOY!! 😛

Sonam u too gujarati? 😕 ...........