While it’s auspicious to fly colourful kites on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, the beautiful festival means more than that. The festival signifies an amazing amalgamation of spirituality, astronomy, and health with inherent traditional values.

Understand that at its core, human life is all about attaining Sat, Chit and Anand, i.e.  Truth, Consciousness and Bliss and thus each activity of (almost) everyone is meant to attain that only. These integral elements of life, that are deeply philosophical in nature, help a person live harmoniously with family while performing all Karmas.

Further, you cannot separate ‘Nature’ from the very human existence. Can you live peacefully and in good health if there is no harmony with nature? Actually, no one can. Various festivals of India are therefore in tune with the same philosophy.

And Makar Sankranti is one such festival.

It is celebrated as per the nature cycle. It’s also aimed at nurturing harmonious family relationship through delightful activities. This integration of nature, family values and enjoyment leads to the ultimate peace that everyone seeks in life.

Honouring a Scientific Truth

The harvest festival is a nice way to honour a profound scientific truth. It’s wondrous to see how even common people celebrate a major cosmic change and cyclic movement of the sun God. It’s the shifting of the sun from one zodiac sign to another that brings about changes in atmosphere amazingly. On January 14th, the sun God passes through the winter solstice; from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn (Makar).

Such a great cosmic-astronomical harmony is an incredible scientific phenomenon that we honour through this beautiful festival.

The northward rotation of the Mother Earth brings the promise of a harvest of abundance & happiness. And people express their happiness in different ways in different parts of the country as they celebrate this harvest festival.

A Festival for Showing Gratitude & Developing Immunity

The festival also reminds people to say thanks to all who have contributed to their well-being. The celebration of peace & harmony is also a day when divine prayers of gratitude are offered to the Sun God for a robust harvest.

Further, no festival is complete without delicious food & sweets and the Makar Sankranti delicacies are exceptional, some of which are made of sesame seeds (Til).

These seeds are an abundant source of nutrients that play a crucial role in boosting immunity, like zinc, iron, copper, vitamin B6, and E. According to some scientific studies, the human body needs zinc to activate blood cells that prevent the attack of harmful microbes.

And during the ongoing COVID phase, this is what everyone needs the most- a strong immune system.

Thus, Makar Sankranti is not just about flying kites rather, it’s also about honouring an incredible cosmic phenomenon, showing the gratitude and boosting immunity.

Of course, flying kites is a wonderful tradition and it is remarkable as well. It gives an opportunity to get Vitamin D through sun bath- a medicine in itself that heals some diseases including cold.

So, on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti understand the importance of good health, immunity, gratitude, prayers, and of course, enjoyment in natural surroundings. And don’t miss the chance to fly higher, boost immunity and enjoy good health.

Warm wishes on Makar Sankranti!