New Delhi: Makara Sankranti is one of the most auspicious occasions for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in a myriad of cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour, and gaiety. It is a harvest festival. (VIEW PICS)
Makara means Capricorn Zodiac Sign and Sankranti means transition of the Sun from one zodiac sign to another.
Thus Makar Sankranti is the day that marks the transition of the Sun into Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India.
Makara Sankranti is a solar event making it perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year: 14 January.
It is believed that a person who dies during this auspicious period of Uttarayana is lucky as he goes to heaven. A person who dies during this period is said to become free from the cycle of rebirth.
