President, vice president greet nation on Makar Sankranti, Pongal

Indian President Pratibha Patil and Vice President Hamid Ansari Thursday greeted the nation on Makar Sankranti and Pongal and wished prosperity and happiness to the people.

About Makar Sankranti: A 'Thanksgiving' Festival celebrated across India
Makar Sankranti or Sankranti or Sankranthi marks the transition of the Sun into Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path. Traditionally, this has been one of many harvest days in India. Owing to the vast geography and diversity of culture in India, this festival is celebrated for many reasons and in many ways depending on the climate, agricultural environment, cultural background and location.

Sankranti is celebrated since last 6,000 years, as archeological findings in Latin America prove that the Mayans celebrated something similar to Sankranthi with Pongal, Pala kayalu, as some kind of spring festival.

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.

According to Hindu beliefs, the northward movement of the sun begins on this day. The period from Karkasankrant (the passage of the sun into the zodiac sign of Cancer) to Makarsankrant is called the dakshinayan. A person who dies in the dakshinayan period has a greater chance of going to Yamalok (southward region), than one who dies during uttarayan (northward revolution).

Importance of haldi-kumkum ceremony performed by married women on sankranti : Performing haldi-kumkum (Turmeric powder and saffron) ceremony is in a way invoking the waves of dormant Adi-shakti in the Universe to get activated. This helps in creating impression of Sagun (Materialised) devotion on the mind of an individual and enhances his bhav (Spiritual emotion) unto God.