With this winter solstice, Sun has started lighting up the north pole more from today and sun will be rising early now on.
https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@5870294?month=12&year=2020
I think this is what is called Sun started its direction towards uttrarayan, the day Bhishma was waiting to leave his body?
Thank you
But, some (but not all) Indian Panchangams do calculate/mention Uttarayana as beginning today. Which is to say, they're aware that this is a tropical motion.
Yet- they still calculate Makara-Sankranti, the festival, to be around Jan 14th
Do the two things have to be conflated?
Makar Sankranti means sun goes into Capricorn, as per sidereal, it goes on 14th Jan, so they celebrate on that day.
Which Indian panchaga you saw considering uttrayan on dec 21?
Makar Sankranti means sun goes into Capricorn, as per sidereal
Yes, i know. Some online panchangs calculate Uttarayana as Dec (my Panchang.com)
Plus, at the ground reality of celebrating the festival, it isn't really about this, isn't it.
That led me to wonder if the conflation of the two things should even be done
Its about Sun starting an auspicious movement towards uttarayan, people consider this as an auspicious day and celebrate on wrong date and thus may not get correct results. So it should be celebrated on Dec 21.
@amit
yes, but who celebrates it for those reasons, I wonder?
It's usually a harvest festival and thanking the Sun for its help, isn't it? And generally getting rid of old stuff (can again be tied to farming.. and getting the fields ready for the next round. And this is not so weird because India's farming season is often longer and you can even grow/harvest somethings in winter)
For Tamilians it is called Pongal (but the same day). It's also a dish that people make with the newly-harvested rice (obviously for most urbanites, this is just a symbolic thing). Plus, people often let the milk boil over, symbolically representing goodness overflowing. Now when I think Winter Solstice, abundance... is not my first thought, even though it marks Suns northward movement. So I started wondering if conflation of the two things is the mistake, rather than the festival being the mistake.
i think its good for spiritual people to take advantage of this day for doing longer meditation or doing agni hotram to perpetuate Sun. Ultimately Sun is our creative destiny, a key self planet.
If we have to make Sun happy by above or festivals, then why not do on the correct day?