Makara Sankranti

Sankranti is a Hindu observance and a festival usually falling on the date of 14 January annually (15 January on a leap year), this occasion marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (dhanu) to Capricorn (makara). Makar Sankranti are known by various names including ‘Sankranthi or Peddha Panduga’ in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ‘Khichari’ in Bhojpuri region, ‘Magh Bihu’ in Assam, ‘Maghi Saaji’ in Himachal Pradesh, ‘Makara Sankranti’ in Kerala, Karnataka, ‘Maghi Sangrand’ in Punjab, ‘Pongal’ in Tamil Nadu, ‘Maghi Sangrand’ or ‘Uttarain’ (Uttarayana) in Jammu, ‘Sakrat’ in Haryana, ‘Sakraat’ in Rajasthan, ‘Sukarat’ in central India, ‘Uttarayana’ in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, ‘Ghughuti’ in Uttarakhand, ‘Dahi Chura’ in Bihar, ‘Makar Sankranti’ in Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal (also called Poush Sankranti or Mokor Sonkranti), Uttar Pradesh (also called Khichidi Sankranti), Uttarakhand (also called Uttarayani) or as simply, Maghe Sankranti (Nepal), Songkran (Thailand), Thingyan (Myanmar), Mohan Songkran (Cambodia), Til Sakraat in Mithila, and Shishur Senkrath (Kashmir). On Makar Sankranti, Surya (Hindu solar deity) is worshipped along with Vishnu and goddess Lakshmi throughout India.