Tila-Sankranti/Maghe- Sankranti or Maghi falls on the first day of Magh as per the lunar calendar, that usually falls on January 14/15. This is widely celebrated in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. Growing up in Nepal, this was one of my favourite cultural festivals apart from JurShital. Let me emphasize, this is a cultural celebration than a religious one and hence it’s a unique celebration.
This is also considered another day apart from Chhath, where we thank the Sun, the ultimate source of energy. This day also marks the movement of the Sun from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. There is the belief that the daylight starts to increase from Maghe-Sankranti and marks the winter solstice coming to end. Hence, we thank the Sun on the day of Maghi. There are different kinds of celebrations that are observed on Maghe-Sankranti depending on geographical region. This is celebrated by Tharu, Magar, Maithali, Newar, Kirat, Limbu, and Pahadi communities to name a few.
In Nepal particularly in hilly regions, it is also called “ghiu-chaku khane din“, a day where we eat a sweet made up of ghee (clarified butter)- jaggery, laddus made up of jaggery and sesame. This is one day when we don’t consume a regular meal. Rather we eat mostly fruits, and vegetables like tarul (Cassava), pidalu (Taro root), sakharkhanda(sweet potatoes), and ghiu chaku. In the Himalayas, where Limbu and Kirat people mostly resides, celebrate Maghe-Sankranti also as the Limbu New Year’s Day. The new year celebrations are full of lots of decorations and folk dances. Previously people used to make all the sweets at home but now we can buy them.
In terai, two of my favorite practices that we grew up with are, making a bonfire to warm up after a cold shower and getting teel-chaur (sesame-rice)from my seniors and parents. The belief is that if you get teel-chaur from anyone, you must take care of them. And following that trend, only sons used to get that from their parents. But we three sisters used to get that from our parents. Not only that, practicing Vasudhaiva-Kutumbakam we used to get teel-chaur even from our uncles/aunts/neighbours. One another fun aspect of Tila-Sankranti is eating khichadi (a dish made from rice, dal, vegetables, and ghee) by some families. The best part of the Maghi is that we don’t have to wait for any rituals to be performed before eating those laddus. We can have laddus as soon as it’s made.
Being in this era, where we question everything for scientific explanations, the Maghe-Sankranti do have some…. some 😊!!
Sesame seed is rich in protein, water contents, and fats and it controls blood pressure and reduces oxidative stress. The only risk is that some people are allergic to sesame and should be careful. Jaggery made up of sugar cane juice or palm sap also has many health benefits aiding in digestion, detoxing the liver and blood, relieving constipation, relieving stress, and having antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals that is good for digestion and immunity. Cassava is a good source of resistant starch and vitamin C, aiding digestion. Similarly, all the other vegetables and fruits are rich sources of vitamins/minerals/natural sugar which is good for health. These are the health benefits.
One important aspect is getting teel-chour, or making sweets together which allows getting together with family, and friends and enjoying all the delicacies. As stress/overthinking are some attributes that come in handy in this era of competition. These all practices that we do as a part of celebrations, provide us with a subtle way of relaxing, getting mental-psychological support from family-friends-people, and hence a sense of belongingness. At the end, it’s all about with whom and how we feel content or rest all is just words!!!
So, let’s thank the Sun for setting up a little later, and let’s eat lots of laddus, ghiu-chaku, and tarul.
माघी/तिला संक्रांति/माघे संक्रान्तिको हार्दिक मंगलमय शुभकामना! 😊