Maghi is the regional name of

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...

, the Indian harvest festival celebrated on

winter solstice The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...

. Maghi falls on the first day of the month of Magh and is celebrated in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

and

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. It follows on the heels of the mid-winter festival of Lohri which is marked by bonfires in North Indian fields and yards. The next morning is seen as an auspicious occasion for ritual bathing in ponds and rivers. In Himachal Pradesh, the festival is also known as ''Maghi Saaji'' or ''Magha Ra Saza''. It is known as Maghi Sangrand or Uttarain ( Uttarayana) in Jammu and Sakrat in Haryana.

In Hinduism

always falls on the first day of the month of Magha in the Vikram Samvat calendar. On Maghi, when the sun takes its northern journey on entering the sign of Makara or Capricorn, the Hindus take bath in the River Ganga or if that is not possible, in some other river, rivulet, canal or pond.Census of India, 1961: Punjab. Managher of Publications
/ref>Census of India, 1961: Punjab. Managher of Publications
/ref> In the ancient Indian epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', it was on Maghi (Makar Sankranti) that

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

attained '' mukti'' (liberation) after having heard discourses about the mysteries of life and death since Kartik Purnima during the Mahabharata war. It follows the festival of Lohri in

north India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

, particularly popular in the

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Himachal Pradesh

Maghi is popularly referred to as Magha Ra Saza in some parts of

. As Magh is the coldest month in the hills when agriculture comes to a standstill, this month is dedicated to worship of

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

. In the villages of Himachal, Lohri night is part of Maghi celebrations and is referred to as Masant''.'' Another ritual associated with Maghi is Madraison Puja when the houses are cleaned and decorated.

In Sikhism

For

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

it is a community gathering to commemorate martyrdom of forty Sikhs (''Chalis Mukte)'' who once had deserted the tenth and last human Guru of

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

at Anandpur Sahib, but later rejoined the Guru and died while fighting the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

army led by Wazir Khan in 1705. Sikhs make a pilgrimage to the site of the war, and take a holy dip in the sacred water pond of Gurdwara Sri Tootti Ganddi Sahib in Muktsar. A fair (''mela'') is held at Muktsar every year and called the Mela Maghi which is held in memory of the forty Sikh martyrs. Before this tradition started to commemorate the Sikh martyrs who gave their lives to protect the tenth Guru, the festival was observed and mentioned by

Guru Amar Das Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befor ...

, the third Guru of Sikhism.

Cultural celebration

In Punjab, Maghi is celebrated by eating

kheer Kheer, khir or payasam is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, ...

such as rauh di kheer which is an old dish where rice is cooked in sugarcane juice. The dish is prepared in the evening before Maghi and is kept to cool. It is served cold next morning on Maghi with red-chili mixed curd. In some parts of

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

, it is also traditional practice to eat khichdi mixed with lentils, consume raw sugarcane and

jaggery Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...

,Sundar mundarye ho by Assa Singh Ghuman Waris Shah Foundation ISBN B1-7856-043-7 Fairs are held at many places in Punjab on Maghi.Sekhon, Iqbal S. The Punjabis. 2. Religion, society and culture of the Punjabis. Cosmos (2000

/ref>

References

{{Punjabi fairs and festivals Festivals in Himachal Pradesh Festivals in Jammu and Kashmir Festivals in Punjab, India Folk festivals in India Harvest festivals in India Haryanavi culture Hindu festivals January observances Punjabi festivals Religious festivals in India Sikh festivals Winter festivals Winter solstice

In Hinduism

Himachal Pradesh

In Sikhism

Cultural celebration

See also

References