Uploaded January 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Know some amazing facts behind celebrating Makar Sankranti, across the world with Chhota Bheem. Check out this exclusive video!!
Bheem: Happy Makar Sankranti, Raju!
He also offers Raju some Gud & Til Laddoos… which Raju happily eats at once… but is even more amazed now at the celebrations going around and asks …
Raju: Bheem… what is Makar Sankranti?
Bheem: Raju, don’t you know:
· Makar Sankranti is a very significant Harvest Festival of the Hindus, which marks the end of the winter season and the beginning of a new harvest or spring season.
· Scientifically, on Makar Sankranti the day and night time are believed to be equal and therefore after Makar Sankranti, the day time starts to become warmer and longer.
Raju: But, what about Lohri? I know it is also a harvest festival.
Bheem: Yes Raju, Harvest festivals like Makar Sankranti is celebrated in almost all the states of India under various names like
•Makar Sankranti in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Kerala
•Shishur Saenkraat in Kashmir
•Maghi in Himachal Padesh & Haryana
•Lohri in Punjab
•Uttarayan in Gujarat
•Khichdi in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
•Poush Parbon in West Bengal
•Bhogali Bihu in Assam
•Makara Sankramana in Karnataka
•Pongal in Tamil Nadu
It is also celebrated in many of our neighbouring countries with different names and in different ways, e.g.:
a.Maghe Sankranti in Nepal
b.Songkran in Thailand
c.Pi Ma Lao in Laos
d.Thingyan in Mayanmar
e.Moha Sangkran in Cambodia
f.Pongal in Srilanka
Or “Though extremely popular as Makar Sankranti, the harvest Festival is celebrated throughout India, with different names. While Makar Sankranti is most popular in West India, in south, the festival is known as Pongal and in the north, it is celebrated as Lohri. Uttarayan, Maghi, Khichdi are some other names of the same festival.”
Raju: Ohh... so many names of the same festival!
Bheem: Yes! Raju, did you ever notice that unlike other festivals, Makar Sankranti falls on the same date every year! It is because all other festivals follow the lunar calendar, based on the position of the moon and Makar Sankranti follows the solar calendar... which is based on the position of the sun.
However, quite interestingly, because of the orientation change in Earth’s rotational axis, the celebration date is sometimes changed by one day. Therefore … for the years 2013 & 2014, the date was 14 January, but for 2015 & 2016, the celebration date is 15 January.
Raju: Hun! I never noticed it before!
Bheem: And do you know according to Sanskrit language ‘Makar’ means Capricorn, the Alligator and 'Sankranti' signifies the movement of the sun from one zodiac sign to another. Thus, the festival’s name literally means the movement of the sun into the zodiac sign Capricorn.
Raju: Bheem… now I know a lot about Makar Sankranti! But I still don’t understand why all the people are distributing sweets and flying kites, today?
Bheem: Raju, People distribute sweets made of til (Seasame seeds) & gud (Jagerry) on Makar Sankranti as a symbol of warmth and sweetness for their near & dear ones. But the scientific importance of these sweets is that they help in keeping our body warm and provide oil to give moisture to our skin during the going winter season.
A similar reason inspires the tradition of flying Kites on Makar Sankranti too. In old days, people used to believe that by flying Kites during the early morning hours, they could bask in the gentle sun rays, which are not only beneficial for the skin & body but also help us fight away any infection causing bacteria. So, Kite flying is just a well-thought of, fun-filled way of sun basking for good health during the changing season.
Raju: Wow! So Bheem this festival really has a lot of Significance…
Bheem: Yes… c’mon let us all celebrate the Warmth and Sweetness of this joyful festival with friends and family…
SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD Group of Schools wishes you all – a very Happy Makar Sankranti
EduMAX is one of the best homeschool preschool curriculum that has been adopted by thousands of parents for their child’s online education. For a FREE Trial Class, call @ 9560559955, 9599936398, For more details, visit:shemrock.com/home-school
Know some amazing facts behind celebrating Makar Sankranti, across the world with Chhota Bheem. Check out this exclusive video!!
Bheem: Happy Makar Sankranti, Raju!
He also offers Raju some Gud & Til Laddoos… which Raju happily eats at once… but is even more amazed now at the celebrations going around and asks …
Raju: Bheem… what is Makar Sankranti?
Bheem: Raju, don’t you know:
· Makar Sankranti is a very significant Harvest Festival of the Hindus, which marks the end of the winter season and the beginning of a new harvest or spring season.
· Scientifically, on Makar Sankranti the day and night time are believed to be equal and therefore after Makar Sankranti, the day time starts to become warmer and longer.
Raju: But, what about Lohri? I know it is also a harvest festival.
Bheem: Yes Raju, Harvest festivals like Makar Sankranti is celebrated in almost all the states of India under various names like
•Makar Sankranti in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Manipur, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Kerala
•Shishur Saenkraat in Kashmir
•Maghi in Himachal Padesh & Haryana
•Lohri in Punjab
•Uttarayan in Gujarat
•Khichdi in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
•Poush Parbon in West Bengal
•Bhogali Bihu in Assam
•Makara Sankramana in Karnataka
•Pongal in Tamil Nadu
It is also celebrated in many of our neighbouring countries with different names and in different ways, e.g.:
a.Maghe Sankranti in Nepal
b.Songkran in Thailand
c.Pi Ma Lao in Laos
d.Thingyan in Mayanmar
e.Moha Sangkran in Cambodia
f.Pongal in Srilanka
Or “Though extremely popular as Makar Sankranti, the harvest Festival is celebrated throughout India, with different names. While Makar Sankranti is most popular in West India, in south, the festival is known as Pongal and in the north, it is celebrated as Lohri. Uttarayan, Maghi, Khichdi are some other names of the same festival.”
Raju: Ohh... so many names of the same festival!
Bheem: Yes! Raju, did you ever notice that unlike other festivals, Makar Sankranti falls on the same date every year! It is because all other festivals follow the lunar calendar, based on the position of the moon and Makar Sankranti follows the solar calendar... which is based on the position of the sun.
However, quite interestingly, because of the orientation change in Earth’s rotational axis, the celebration date is sometimes changed by one day. Therefore … for the years 2013 & 2014, the date was 14 January, but for 2015 & 2016, the celebration date is 15 January.
Raju: Hun! I never noticed it before!
Bheem: And do you know according to Sanskrit language ‘Makar’ means Capricorn, the Alligator and 'Sankranti' signifies the movement of the sun from one zodiac sign to another. Thus, the festival’s name literally means the movement of the sun into the zodiac sign Capricorn.
Raju: Bheem… now I know a lot about Makar Sankranti! But I still don’t understand why all the people are distributing sweets and flying kites, today?
Bheem: Raju, People distribute sweets made of til (Seasame seeds) & gud (Jagerry) on Makar Sankranti as a symbol of warmth and sweetness for their near & dear ones. But the scientific importance of these sweets is that they help in keeping our body warm and provide oil to give moisture to our skin during the going winter season.
A similar reason inspires the tradition of flying Kites on Makar Sankranti too. In old days, people used to believe that by flying Kites during the early morning hours, they could bask in the gentle sun rays, which are not only beneficial for the skin & body but also help us fight away any infection causing bacteria. So, Kite flying is just a well-thought of, fun-filled way of sun basking for good health during the changing season.
Raju: Wow! So Bheem this festival really has a lot of Significance…
Bheem: Yes… c’mon let us all celebrate the Warmth and Sweetness of this joyful festival with friends and family…
SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD Group of Schools wishes you all – a very Happy Makar Sankranti
EduMAX is one of the best homeschool preschool curriculum that has been adopted by thousands of parents for their child’s online education. For a FREE Trial Class, call @ 9560559955, 9599936398, For more details, visit:shemrock.com/home-school
