With so many people of different backgrounds and cultures in Nepal, the number of festivals is many. There are many festivals that are celebrated all over Nepal. Each festival is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm. Out of many such festivals celebrated by the Nepalese people, Maghe Sankranti is one of them. Learn more below.
Essay on Maghe Sankranti
Maghe Sankranti falls on the month of Magh (falls in the January English calendar). It is celebrated on the first day of the new month. It is also known as Makar Sakranti. The main reason for the celebration of this festival is to bid farewell to winter and welcome the upcoming warmth. In a way, this festival indicated the end of the cold season.
There are many cultures in Nepal, with such vast cultures also brings many different ways of celebrating the same festival. People celebrate this festival in their own ways. This celebration is extremely important to Nepal’s particular ethnic group, the Tharu community. This day is considered the beginning of the Tharu New Year. It is also the harvest festival of the Tharu and Terai people. This festival is for winding back after hard work in their fields and relaxing. For Tharus, Maaghi is a weeklong festival. They conduct cultural dances, dress up in traditional Tharu attire, and eat and drink with their loved ones throughout the holiday.
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Makar Sankranti is also celebrated with great vigor by the Magar community. They invite their married daughters to celebrate and even worship with them at home. People of the Hindu community also celebrate it with great zeal and enthusiasm. Hindu devotees bathe in Nepal’s auspicious and religious rivers. They take a dip in rivers such as Bagmati River, Gandaki/Narayani River in the Triveni, Devghat in Chitwan, Ridi on the Kaligandaki, and Dolalghat on the Sunkoshi in the Koshi River basin. Devotees pray to Lord Vishnu, read the sacred epic Bhagwad Gita and perform pujas. Even people from India come to Devghat and the Kankai river to take a dip.
This festival also carries significant importance to the people of the Kirant Community. Like the Tharu community, this day is considered another new Kirant year. Families come together and celebrate the new year.
People from Nepal’s Tharu community also attend Kathmandu Valley’s open ground Tundikhel (to commemorate Maghe Sankranti, the group’s main event) to mark the beginning of the New Year. They have a spectacular Maghi celebration that runs from the final seven days of Paush to the third day of Magh. This is the finest day for Tharu people to get together with their family and friends to celebrate their new year by dancing, acting out their own culture, singing, and playing various activities. For the Tharu, this is essentially Dashain.
The main similarities between all these different types of celebration are social bonding and most importantly the food. The food includes Till ko laddu (Brown Sesame seed Fudge), Chakku (Molasys), Ghee (Clarified Butter), Tilauri. Spinach, Yams, Sweet Potatoes, ground foods, and for Tharu people, meat produces. Foods that we have on this day are considered to provide warmth and energy to the body. Families unite together, share joys and sorrows and most importantly enjoy the day with each other.
Maghe Sankranti has a folk tale associated with it. A merchant from Bhadgaun (now Baktapur) was making a good living selling sesame seeds. Even after so many trades, he realized there was never a shortage. After looking for the reason behind such, he discovered the idol of Lord Vishnu underneath the seeds. From then, it is believed that embracing the Til Mahadev idol will provide Bhaktapur with prosperity and wealth.
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According to Hindu tradition, several holy books also mention the significance of Maghe Sankranti. According to the epic Mahabharata, Bhisma Pitamaha, who possesses vast strength and has received the benefits of being able to control his own death, decided to die on this day. People who die on this day are said to achieve Moksha or liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth.
People celebrating the festival may be different but the essence of the festival will always remain the same. Family bonding and interaction are done on this day and stronger bonds are formed. Nepalese people are known for their vast cultures and it is of great joy to say each and every Nepalese respect each other’s festivals and they themselves indulge in the celebrations of other people’s festivals.