India is a spiritual, cultural, and
religious country. The majority of the population follows Hinduism. India
celebrates a large number of festivals. Some festivals are religious festivals,
cultural festivals, harvest festivals, and some Sun festivals. Here we are
going to talk about the Sun Festival in India.
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Sun festival in India |
In India, we also worship
the Sun, the greatest source of light and energy, on which depends the very
existence of all the life on Earth. To offer prayers there are various Sun
festivals in India. You can find some of the important Sun Festivals celebrated in India.
SUN FESTIVALS IN INDIA
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S.N. |
NAME |
STATE |
MONTH |
1 |
Makar Sankranti |
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh |
January |
2 |
Lohri |
Punjab |
January |
3 |
Pongal |
Tamil Nadu |
January |
4 |
Ratha Saptami |
Andhra Pradesh |
February |
5 |
Chhath Puja |
North India, Maharashtra |
November |
Makar Sankranti- Sun Festival in India
Makar Sankranti also known as Makara Sankranti is celebrated in various parts of the Indian subcontinent. The day marks the shift of the sun into ever-lengthening days.
The festival is a seasonal observance as well as a religious celebration.
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Makar Sankranti | Sun Festival in India |
South Indians celebrate this festival with other names. On the same date, the Tamil community celebrates this festival as Pongal, a 4 days long festival. Kerala celebrates this festival as one of the most austere and difficult pilgrimages of Sabarimala that ends on this auspicious day.
North Indians, celebrate this festival with their own culture and traditions. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar celebrate Makar Sankranti as Maghi and Khichadi. Makar Sankranti generally marks the beginning of the Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh. Punjab celebrates this festival as Lohri. Gujarat celebrates this festival as Uttarayan. Kite flying events are organized at various places to celebrate this festival.
Other parts of the country too, celebrate by taking a dip in the holy rivers flowing through states to cleanse themselves of sins. It is also believed that if you die during Makar Sankranti, you are not reborn but go directly to heaven. Know more:- Makar Sankranti Celebration
Pongal- Sun Festival in India
Pongal is one of the
Sun Festivals in India celebrated by the Tamil community. Pongal is
also, one of the South Indian Famous Festival since this festival is widely
celebrated in Tamil Nadu.
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Pongal | Sun Festival in India |
You can see the south Indian culture during the Pongal festival celebration. The four-day Pongal celebration thanking the Sun God for an abundant harvest is called as Pongal festival. Pongal is celebrated by boiling rice in milk and offered first to the gods, then to the cows, and then to family members.
The Pongal festival is celebrated for four days. The first day of the Pongal festival is called Bhogi. The second day of Pongal is an important celebration called the Pongal festival. The third day of Pongal is known as “Jallikattu”. The fourth day of Pongal is called “Kaanum Pongal”. Know more:- Pongal Festival Celebration
Also Read:- Cultural Festivals in India
Lohri- Sun Festival in India
Lohri is also considered one of the Sun festivals of India. It marks the beginning of
the end of winter, the coming of spring, and the New Year. The festival is
traditionally associated with the harvest of rabi crops.
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Lohri -The Sun Festival of India |
Besides these, in Punjab
villages, it is a tradition to eat Gajak, Sarson Da Saag, and Makki Di Roti on
the day of Lohri. It is also traditional to eat 'Til rice'-sweet rice made
with Jaggery (Gur) and sesame seeds.
Also Read:- Religious Festivals of India
Ratha Saptami- Sun Festival in India
Ratha Saptami is also one of
the Sun Festivals in India celebrated by the Hindu community. This festival is a
Hindu festival that falls on the Seventh-day (Saptami) of the bright half of
the Hindu month Maagha.
This day is also known as
Surya Jayanthi because it celebrates the power of the Sun God who is believed
to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu in his form as Surya is
usually worshipped on this day.
Usually, Rathasapthami
begins in households with a purification bath by holding a few calotropis
leaves on one’s head and shoulders while bathing and chanting a verse that is
supposed to invoke the benevolence of the Lord in that entire one takes up the
rest of the year. It also involves doing a puja with the ritual ‘Naivedyam’,
flowers, and fruits.
On this day at Tirumala
(Andhra Pradesh), Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) is mounted on Seven Vahanas
(Celestial Vehicles) one after the other starting from Suryaprabha Vahanam and
ending with Chandraprabha Vahana.
Other Vahanas are Hanumad
vahana, Garuda Vahana, Pedda Sesha Vahana, Kalpavruksha vahana and Sarva Bhoopala
vahana. Also chakrasnanam is performed on the same day.
A devotee enjoys watching
the Lord mounted on different vahanas in one day which is popularly known as
Oka roju Brahmotsavam (Single day celebrations).
Chhath Puja- Sun Festival in India
Chhath Puja is an ancient Hindu festival. It is dedicated to God Sun thus this festival is a Sun festival in India. The celebrations lasting four days take place throughout the country. During this, people bring prayers and offerings to Surya and his wife Usha, the Goddess of the Daybreak.
The North Indian state of Bihar is the center and birthplace of the festival. The festival is also The Main Festival of Bihar. The festival enjoys the greatest popularity in the eastern states of India but is now celebrated throughout India such as in Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and other parts of India. Chhath is unique to Bihar, Jharkhand Uttar Pradesh, Nepal & Mauritius.
The Chhath Puja is held according to the Lunar calendar and comes in autumn, on the sixth day of the Kartik month, shortly after the celebration of the Festival of Lights - Diwali, which marks the end of agricultural work.
In accordance with a strict tradition, this is a period for the devotees to be fasting and abstaining from drinking water, as well as to be performing ablutions and standing in water for a long period of time and performing the ceremonies of worshipping the Sun rising or setting. The contact with water and prolonged meditative staying in it is an essential part of the ceremonies. It is noteworthy that this is one of the rare Hindu holidays in which priests are not involved at all: prayer communication with the Sun implies detachment from the vanities of the world, although it takes place together with the relatives around and with a huge number of other participants in the ritual.
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