Jan 14 is when I celebrate the new year, not the Gregorian new year which is a random date. makara sankranti is a real astronomical event, when the sun moves into the constellation makara or Capricorn, and it marks the end of the winter (such as it is) in India. (funny thing is it has broiling hot in Kerala lately 90+ def F, 33 deg C. some winter!). tomorrow is the start of the malayalam month of makaram/Capricorn. it will be makaram 1, 1200 ME (malabar era).
5,000 years ago makara sankranti (based on the solar calendar) used to coincide with the uttarayanam (loosely speaking the winter solstice). because of the precession of the equinoxes, that is because the earth's axis is tilted at 23 degrees, the two dates are diverging. 18,000 years later, the two will coincide again.
in bhishma's time, or around 3102 BCE, the two coincided, and this is why bhishma lay on the bed of arrows (sara-sayya) waiting for uttararayanam, the auspicious time, to arrive, before he passed away on the winter solstice, Dec 22.
my father passed away on the exact opposite, on Jun 21, the summer solstice, in 2003.
and this year we have the Maha kumbha mela, which happens once in 144 years.
wish all of you a great year ahead!
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