Maghe Sankranti is a festival and celebration that is celebrated in Nepal. This festival is celebrated on the first day of the month of Magh. Maghe Sankranti marks the halfway of December and the cold times of Nepal, meaning that days will start to get a little warmer like a transition from winter to spring. Like any other festival, it is also the time to meet up with your family, friends, and relatives and have fun together. We celebrate Maghe Sankranti by first taking a holy bath in rivers which are also known as Makar Snan. Generally, these bathes are taken at the place where three rivers meet (Triveni). The Bagmati River, Narayani, Ridi, and Devghat are the most popular places to take these holy baths. During my time in Nepal, I have visited the Devghat river and there is a really long chain bridge connecting the two sides of the river. When I first took a step I was really scared because of the wobbliness. The Devghat river is also where the two rivers Kali – Ghadaki, and the Trisuli meet. In Maghe Sankranti people also enjoy the sweetness of the concentrated sugar cane juice, laddu, kichadi, milk, and flattened rice as well as other sweet and oily foods. These foods are believed to help fight the winters.
There are many legends and stories of Maghe Sankranti but the merchant one is the most famous. This legend is about a merchant in Bhadgaon now known as Bhaktapur who sold sesame seeds. However, he was never out of stock; he even got surprised by this and decided to look for more clues. During his search, he was cleaning the stockpiles when he found Lord Vishnu’s idol down beneath in the seeds who is now worshiped as Til Madhav Narayan. Ever since then it is believed that worshiping this idol will bring an abundance of food, prosperity, and wealth to the city of Bhaktapur. In conclusion, Maghe Sankranti is a celebration where citizens take holy dips in rivers, gather with relatives, and eat food like sweet potato, laddu, milk and flattened rice, concentrated sugarcane juice, and kichadi which are believed to fight off the winter. Maghe Sankranti is celebrated on the first of the month of Magh and marks the ending of winter and a transition to the spring season.