Festivals week

http://www.thanksgiving-day.org/makar-sankranti.html
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--pongal picture

This is the week of festivities....LOHRI,PONGAL,SANKARANTI, SAKAT all together. basically all these festival celebrate the harvest.
LOHRI is celebrated on 13th. I know this much about it only.......First Lohri of any bride is very special, she is given lot of gifts,and its celebrated with lot of joy, with bonfire, rewri, peanuts etc.
Pongal....Yesterday i asked my neighbours what you do on this day, she told me that they take sugar cane, haldi and all that and worship Sun god and make few delicacies like sweet pongal etc.
My daughter makes Pachdi...mixture of five thing..sweet,sour,bitter..all the taste and it symbolises that one must face all the things in life with the equanimity.

From this day starts SHUKL Paksh and so the season of Haldi kumkum in Maharashtra,--I wrote the details here.SANKRANTI----I know a little about it, as its celebrated in our family.I remember my childhood, when on this day my mother used to ask us not to eat anything without मिन्सिंग ..its giving out something..on this day she will get fresh Gazak and put it in a plate one for each of us with some money and we shall give it. Then after the first year of marriage, on this day girl/s parents send all the clothes and sweets for inlaws.I still remember that my chacha's inlaws used to send so much of special sweets on this day..like varieties of laddoos, in those day sankaranti laddoos used to be very big ones ,like something of 250 gm each, and then in 5 laddoes one silver coin would be put inside in a small box..one in each. Now I know that most of the young girls reading it will question..why should a girl's parents only do something:).........I always told my daughter not to interfere in what i am giving and always take pride in whatever i do, and the same I am writing here...these are traditions..made to make the relationships better, may be in the earlier days they thought that their daughter lives with the other family, so they wanted to please the family..but now.a.days, I think that if we can afford..though this is also very subjective, because everybody does everything, only the scale or the range varies,we must follow the traditions, because if we start questioning everything, then we shall loose all the traditions and celebration will mean only either making food or eating outside and then only we will miss all this. These small traditions dont make any difference to even inlaws...as most of the time gifts are hardly used, they just make them happy that somebody gives them respect.yes , these things should be out of choice only, none should be compelled to do it, but at the same time one should not abolish all the systems... and today's generation is so kind hearted and generous in donations and other things, then why this old mindset of being against inlaws...when everything is changing...and they want everybody to change all the perspectives, I would say..first change yourself and remove this negative perception of inlaws...think of them as your own and once you start think REALLY that way, you would never have these questions...फ़िर सब अपने होंगे तो कहीं कुछ बुरा नही लगेगा,कौन दे रहा हा कौन ले रहा हा, सभी तो अपने हैं.when in all other relationships, nobody questions any give and take, why this negative feeling ward inlaws....see here everybody has the same relationships somewhere------I am a mother and MIL both,,, and personally i feel lot of happiness while doing everything, and feel bad when for some reason I can do anything. When I love my daughter so much , I care for her inlaws also who have given her respect and love in their family, for that i am eternally indebted to them.This is my take on life:)
SAKAT This is Ganesh Chaturthi and celebrated as sakat for us this month and this year it falls on sakranti day.We keep fast, prepare some sesame delicacies like TILKUT, Laddo,..receipe here take out Baayana..give it to our MIL, then worship the moon at night and then have the dinner.
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY LOHRI,PONGAL AND SANKRANTI !