Bihar and Jharkhand makara festival
In Bihar and Jharkhand, the festival is celebrated on 14–15 January.
On 14 January, it is celebrated as Makar Sankranti or Sakraat or KHICHDI (in local dialects).As in other parts of country, people take baths in rivers and ponds and feast upon seasonal delicacies as a celebration of a good harvest. The delicacies include chura, gur (jaggery), various sweets made of til (desame seeds) such as tilkut, tilwa, maska, etc., curd, milk and seasonal vegetables. Kite flying festivals are also organized, albeit on a small scale.
On 15 January, it is celebrated as Makraat (in some parts of the state) when people relish special khichri (dal-rice replete with cauliflower, peas and potatoes).
This festival is considered to be one of the most important festivals. People start their day by worshiping and putting til (sesame seeds) into fire followed by eating "Dahi-chuda"(remember dahi-chuda is different than chuda-dahi, as in former dahi, i.e. curd predominates over chuda, i.e. beaten rice or avalakki in Kannada in amount) along with Tilkut and Lai.
Generally in the morning people eat chuda-dahi (dahi-chuda is favorite of Maithil Brahmins) with kohada (red pumpkin) ka bhujiya which is made specially with sugar and salt combination without adding water in it, with lots of LAI, i.e. laddus made of til, chuda, chawal(rice). Women used to prepare these things in groups. After a such heavy meal it becomes next to impossible to eat lunch in the afternoon, so people spend the time in greeting others and playing with kites. At night a special KHICHDI is made. "khichdi ke 4 yaar, chokha, papad, ghee, achaar" some prefer to add many more side dishes with khichdi like chatni, tilauri, etc. Since such a rich khichdi is generally only made once a year, the festival is also referred to as "Khichdi".
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