Actually it is celebrated all over the country under various names and different rituals. It is the day when Sun enters into Makara Rashi (Capricorn). The famous Indian astronomer Brahmagupta (6th century) has described this event in great detail.

Sun enters into Makara Rashi on December 21st but tradition considers January 14th as that day. The month from Jan. 13 or 14 to Feb. 13 or 14 is considered as Makara Month. Sun known by the name Bhaga is the god of this month. Bhaga is described in Rigveda as a god with eleven thousand bright golden rays. The day this Makara month starts is called Makara Sankramana. It is also referred to as Uttarayana punyakala.

This astronomical aspect is not confined to ancient India alone. Babylonians and Chaldeans who flourished about 2000 years before Christ were aware of this phenomenon, and had a reckoning of their own. Zodiac Makara was an important astronomical concept among the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Persians were also familiar with this event. They considered that Sun was chasing a beautiful damsel by changing the course of his movement. The symbol of Capricorn was a deity known as sea - goat. In addition to this, sea - goat was considered as a village deity by the Greeks and hence he was worshipped all over Greece.

The earliest reference to this as a festival of harvest can be traced to Babylonian civilisation. All the farmers assembled on this day near the temple (Ziggurat) with their produce. The king took stock of all these products and distributed them among his subjects.

In fact, many clay tablets have been found on which these details are recorded including the accounts. On this basis, the estimates of the harvest have been made.
In India, though it is not stated specifically as a festival of harvest, it may be construed as such because this is the time of harvest in most parts of the country, including Karnataka. This is symbolised in the preparation and distribution of ellu (a mixture of sesame seeds, groundnut, parched Bengal gram, dry coconut, jaggery) to friends and relatives. Sesame is the symbol of Saturn (Shani) and naturally nobody would accept a gift of ellu unless properly compensated by cash or dakshina.

When Navagraha worship is done, Saturn gets the double cash (dakshina) as compared to other planetary deities. My grandfather used to narrate a story in this connection. When Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV died, a gift of sesame (elludana) had to be given as a ritual. A mantapa was built for this purpose on the road facing Doddakere and one thousand measures of sesame was piled up. As the Brahmins of Mysore were reluctant to accept this gift, a Brahmin was specially invited from Tamil Nadu and he was given the dakshina he demanded along with a heap of sesame.

He was provided with a cart to carry the sesame and go out of Mysore without meeting or talking to anybody on the road. Thus people are afraid of Saturn and his symbol sesame. Even now non - Kannadigas would hesitate to accept Sankranti ellu because of this fear. Thus people are scared of Saturn and the effect of Sadesathi (elurata Shani) in particular.

The preparation of Pongal is another aspect of this festival. Pongal is a Dravidian word meaning bubbling up and spill over while boiling (ukkuvudu). In ancient days, fresh rice and green gram were put into a mud pot & boiled with milk and was offered to the god and later consumed as prasada. Pongal is an ancient dish and its antiquity goes to back to eighth century AD. Its Kannada equivalent is huggi and it is mentioned in a Kannada work Lokopakara (1025 AD). Actually Makara Sankranti is the culmination of dhanurmasa when pongal is offered to all the deities and devotees flock the temples without caring for the winter mornings.

Makara Sankranti ushers in a new and auspicious season, Uttarayana. It is traditional belief that the door of the heaven (Swarga) would be opened on that day for the season. The famous Bhishmacharya waited till the beginning of Uttarayana so that he would directly go to Swarga. This belief of the opening of the doors of the heaven was prevalent 5,000 years ago among the Babylonians and the Greeks also.

In traditional homes, children are blessed with ellu, elaichi fruit and a coin, by pouring all these on the heads of children to ward - off the misfortune. In villages, cattle are decorated and worshipped and are made to cross over firepans. Hundreds of records mention the gift of land or money to temples on the day of Uttarayana Punyakala as the merit (punya) would be doubled on that day.

Due to changed circumstances, this festival has become mechanical. Most people buy what is called “Nylon Ellu” from the supermarkets. The excitement of preparing ellu at home by grandmothers has become a rare sight. In spite of this change, this festival is celebrated with religious fervour.

Sankranti festival has a message “Ellu tindu olle matadu”, meaning “Eat ellu and speak good words”. That is the most important aspect of this festival.