Maghe Sankranti (, ,

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

: ) is a

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

i festival observed on the first of Magh in the Vikram Sambat (B.S) or Yele calendar bringing an end to the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

containing month of

Poush Poush ( bn, পৌষ; ne, पौष) is the 9th month of both the Bengali calendar and the Nepali calendar. It overlaps December and January of the Gregorian calendar. It is the first month of the winter season. This month marks the start of Wi ...

Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost i ...

celebrate this particular day as new year. It is also regarded as the major government declared annual festival of the Magar community. Maghe Sankranti is similar to

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...

festivals in other religious traditions. Observant

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s take ritual baths during this festival. These include Sankhamul on the

Bagmati , "Tiger Gate") , source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , mouth = Confluence with Kamala River , mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India , mouth_coord ...

near Patan; In the Gandaki/Narayani river basin at Triveni,

Devghat Devghat (, ) is one of the famous religious and cultural centers in central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 5786 people living in 1132 individual households.. The town is located at the junction of the Seti ...

near

Chitwan Valley The Chitwan Valley ( ne, चितवन उपत्यका) is an Inner Terai valley in the south of Nepal, encompassing the districts of Makwanpur, Chitwan and Nawalpur. The valley is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion ...

and

Ridi Ruru Kshetra ( ne, रूरू क्षेत्र), also known as Ridi (रिडी), is a religious and cultural place situated on the confluence of ''Ridi Khola'' and Kaligandaki river in Nepal. It is also tri-junction of Gulmi, Palpa an ...

on the Kaligandaki; and in the

Koshi River The Kosi or Koshi ( ne, कोशी, , hi, कोसी, ) is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence ...

basin at

Dolalghat Dolalghat is a village development committee in Kabhrepalanchok District in Bagmati Province of central Nepal. Demographics At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1,714 and had 323 houses in it. Transport It is linked by Ar ...

on the Sun Koshi. Festive foods like

laddoo ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat ( ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or ...

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

and

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...

es are distributed. Niece and Nephew usually go to Mama Ghar and take Tika and blessing/dakshina.

Date and Significance

Generally maghe sankranti falls on 14 January, and also called

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

or Maghi in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. Maghe Sankranti is a major

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

celebrated in Nepal. The movement of the sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiacal sign known as Makara, this occasion is named as Makara Sankranti in the Pahari context. It is one of the few Nepalese festivals of Madhesi and

celebrate it on a fixed date, i.e., 14 January because this solar festival in the honor of deity Surya follows the

solar cycle The solar cycle, also known as the solar magnetic activity cycle, sunspot cycle, or Schwabe cycle, is a nearly periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity measured in terms of variations in the number of observed sunspots on the Sun's surfa ...

of the Bikrami calendar, unlike other festivals that follow

lunar cycle Concerning the lunar month of ~29.53 days as viewed from Earth, the lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion, which can be expressed quantitatively using areas or angles, or described qualitatively using the t ...

. Maghe Sankranti is regarded as marking the beginning of an auspicious phase in Nepalese culture. It is cited as the 'holy phase of transition'. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Nepali family, this day on-wards. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season. All over the country, Maghe Sankranti is observed with great fanfares. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western Nepal, the festival is celebrated as the Makar Sankranti day with special zeal and fervour. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. So, apart from socio-geographical importance, Maghe Sankranti holds historical and religious significance. As it is the festival of Sun God, and he is regarded as the symbol of divinity and wisdom, the festival holds an eternal meaning.

Makar Sankranti and the Winter Solstice

Many Nepalese conflate this festival with the

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

, and believe that the sun ends its southward journey (Sanskrit: ''

Dakshinayana Dakshinayana ( sa, दक्षिणायन) is the six-month period between Summer solstice and Winter solstice, when the sun travels towards the south on the celestial sphere. Dakshinayana begins on Karka Sankranti or July 16, as it marks th ...

'') at the Tropic of Capricorn, and starts moving northward (Sanskrit: ''

Uttarayana The term Uttarāyaṇa (commonly Uttarayan) is derived from two different Sanskrit words – "uttara" (North) and "ayana" (movement) – thus indicating a semantic of the northward movement of the Sun on the celestial sphere. This movement begi ...

'') towards the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

, in the month of ''

'' on this day in mid-January. While there is no overt solar observance of Winter Solstice in the Nepali religion, the Vaikuntha Ekadashi festival, calculated on the lunar calendar, falls the closest. Further, the Sun makes its northward journey on the day after

when day light increases. Therefore, Makar Sankranti signifies the celebration of the day following the day of winter solstice. Scientifically, currently in the Northern Hemisphere,

occurs between 21 and 22 December. Day light will begin to increase on 22 December and on this day, the Sun will begin its northward journey which marks ''Uttarayaan''. The date of winter solstice changes gradually due to the Axial precession of the Earth, coming earlier by approximately 1 day in every 70 years. Hence, if the Maghe Sankranti at some point of time did mark the day after the actual date of winter solstice, a date in mid-January would correspond to around 300CE, the heyday of Hellenic mathematics and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

, which was very influential in northern India.

References

External links

Information about festival
*https://web.archive.org/web/20141228094441/http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2012/01/15/metro/maghe-sankranti-marked-feasting-on-food-varieties/230436.html
Maghe Sankranti In Nepal
*Maharjan, S. (2011, January 6). ''Ghyah-Chāku Salhu (Māgha Sankrānti)''. NEPÆNGLISH. https://nepaenglish.com/2011/01/06/ghyah-chaku-salhu-magha-sankranti/ *‌ {{HinduFestivals Hindu festivals in Nepal Nepalese culture Culture of Mithila Public holidays in Nepal Hindu festivals Hindu holy days Observances set by the Vikram Samvat calendar January observances Tharu culture Newar culture Khas culture Kirat festivals Culture of Bagmati Culture of Lumbini Culture of Gandaki Magar culture mai:माघे सङ्क्रान्ति ne:माघे सङ्क्रान्ति new:घ्यःचाकु संल्हु

Date and Significance

Makar Sankranti and the Winter Solstice

See also

References

External links