Makar Sankrant is celebrated on January 14 and is a harvest festival in India. It is celebrated in the Indian subcontinent as well as in Southeast Asia. Makar means Capricorn and Sankrant means transition. The festival is about the transition of Sun into Capricorn (Makar raashi) in its celestial path. It is also the winter solstice when the Sun begins its journey northwards. As a result the day starts to get longer and the nights warmer.

 All over India, this day is celebrated in different ways. In Gujrat, people fly colorful kites, in TamilNadu it is celebrated as Pongal. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, people celebrate by making sweets out of Teel (sesame seeds) and Gul (jaggery). They exchange these sweets with a commitment to increase understanding and brotherhood (teel gul ghya gode bola). In Punjab it is celebrated as Lohri and in Andhra Pradesh it celebrated for 3 days. Beautiful and intricate “muggu” or rangoli adorn the front yards of the house. Day one is the Bhogi Panduga when the old clothes, wood and other articles are piled and burned. Day two is the pedda panduga or Sankranthi and day 3 is the Kanuma.