About Sankranti In English - Festival Information In English (2020)

Important questions answered about Sankranti in English (festival information) to help find quick answers about this great Indian festival with 14 important questions in this article.

About Sankranti Festival In English

1. Why do we celebrate Sankranti?

The festival Makara Sankranthi is a solar event making it one of the few Hindu festivals which fall on the same date in local calendars every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 15 January. 

Makar Sankranti is believed to be a time for peace and prosperity.

2. What is the meaning of the Sankranti?

Makar Sankranti: Marks the transition of the Sun into Makara Rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path, and the six-month Uttarayana period. 

Makar Sankranti is also called as Uttarayana - the day on which the sun begins his northward journey.

3. Why do we wear black clothes on Makar Sankranti?

Among all these tradition people of Maharashtra wears black on this particular day. Though black is considered inauspicious by Hindu ideologies it is kind of customary to wear black on this day. 

That is a scientific reason people wear black since the color absorbs the cold and keeps the body warm from within

4. Why do we fly kite on Makar Sankranti?

Decoding why we fly kites during 'Makar Sankranti' according to the Hindu calendar, Makar Sankranti is a festival celebrated at Magh 1st of Hindu Solar Calendar for the happiness of getting new crops for farmers. 

It also symbolizes the end of the winter solace which makes the day last longer than night (ellu bella recipe).

5. What does Pongal mean?

Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal usually means festivity or celebration; more specifically Pongal is translated as "boiling over" or "overflow." 

Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils that are ritually consumed on this day.

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6. Why is bhogi celebrated?

Bhogi is the first day of the four-day Pongal festival. According to the Gregorian calendar, it is normally celebrated on 13 January but sometimes it is celebrated on 14 January

It is a festival celebrated widely in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

7. Why do we celebrate Pongal?

The term 'Pongal' in Tamil means "to boil", and this festival is celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony for the year's harvest. 

Pongal, one of the important Hindu festivals, falls around the same time as Lohri every year, which is around mid-January

8. Why do we celebrate Vaisakhi?

It is usually celebrated on 13 or 14 April every year. Vaisakhi marks the Sikh new year and commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. 

It is additionally a spring harvest festival for the Sikhs.

9. What is the reason behind celebrating Makar Sankranti?

Hindus celebrate major cosmic changes, such as the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac sign (Rashi) as Sankranti. 

Of the twelve sankrantis, Makara Sankranti on January 14th is the most significant; the sun passes through the winter solstice, from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn (Makar).

10. Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti on January 14 every year?

Since it is observed according to the solar cycle, it is celebrated, mostly on the same day in the Gregorian calendar, every year i.e. 14th January. 

According to the Hindu calendar, Makar Sankranti falls in the solar month Makara and lunar month Magha, which corresponds to Jan-Feb in the Gregorian calendar.

11. Is Sankranti and Pongal same?

While Makar Sankranti is most popular in West India, down south, the festival is known as Pongal and in the north, it is celebrated as Lohri. Uttarayan, Maghi, Khichdi are some other names of the same festival

12. Why do Punjabis celebrate Lohri?

Though popular belief has it that Lohri is celebrated to mark the end of peak winter, this festival is traditionally associated with the harvest of the rabi crops

And thus, Punjabi farmers see the day after Lohri (Maghi) as the financial New Year

13. What is meant by Bhogi Pongal?

Bhogi is the first day of the four-day Pongal festival. On Bhogi, people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing change or transformation.

14. Why is Mattu Pongal celebrated?

It is celebrated as Makara Sankranti or simply "Sankranti" in the rest of the country. 

This is followed by the 'Mattu Pongal' celebration on the third day when bulls, cows and other farm animals are worshipped. 

The fourth day is the 'Kannum Pongal' or 'Kanru Pongal' (Calf Pongal) festival when calves are fed

Makar Sankranti Best Songs

In this, about Sankranti in English article I have tried to answer almost fourteen questions to help you clarify your doubts, but still, if you have any questions please comment on this article so that I can find relevant answers and help you clarify the doubts.