Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
TRINIDAD-TOBAGO, January 12, 2020: The Hindu Festivals Society will host its second annual Makar Sankranti (also called Pongal) celebrations on Thursday. All are invited to join the HFS in its ‘Rudra Gita Gyan Yagna’ as members celebrate India’s biggest and most popular festival, Makar Sankranti. Rituals take place at the HFS Water Festivals Centre, Persad Drive, Los Iros Beach, Los Iros.
Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms with great devotion. It is the first Hindu festival of the solar calendar year, falling on January 14 and falls at a time when the Sun enters the Zodiac sign of Makar (Capricorn) and when the day and night are of equal duration. Days become longer from this point on so it is a time for celebration.
In Gujarat and Maharashtra, India, Makar Sankrant is celebrated with colorful kites. In Punjab, Makar Sankrant is called Lohri and huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant. In Uttar Pradesh, this period is celebrated as Kicheri. It is considered important to have a bath on this day and masses of people can be seen bathing in the Sangam at Prayagraj where the rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswathi flow together. And in Southern India it’s the harvest festival Pongal and lasts for three days. On the first day, rice boiled with milk is offered to the Rain God. On the second day, it is offered to the Sun God and on the third day, the family cattle are given a bath and dressed with flowers, bells and colours. The cattle are honoured for their hard work in the fields.
Lord Surya is worshipped on the Makar Sankranti day and is a form of nature worship. A major event on the day is the bathing ritual at Sangam (confluence of Yamuna, Saraswathi and Ganga) in Allahabad and also in the famous bathing ghats on River Ganga. Taking a holy dip on the day is considered to cleanse sins committed and this will lead to Moksha (Salvation).