My First Celebration of Maghe Sankranti in Nepal: A Day Filled With Warmth, Food, and Family
Experiencing my first Maghe Sankranti in Nepal has been a great thing for me. It has been much more than just a day of celebration. A day of welcoming in the cooler morning to come, which has finally given me some relief from the winter months. For me, it was an opportunity for family members to get together, and to me every room of the house was filled with foods, clothing, and other such items representative of a traditional festival day.
The speciality of the day was defined by the traditional foods that were prepared on this day; specifically, til ko laddu, bhuja ko laddu, and chaku. All three dishes represented what would represent Maghe Sankranti’s uniqueness and value in my mind.
Starting of the day
When I first woke up this morning for my first Maghe Sankranti I was greeted by a bitterly cold winter morning. I loved being with my entire family during this holiday. It was the first time all of us had come together in years, and it was such a great chance to celebrate this special day as a family. We all were looking forward to celebrating the holiday of Maghe Sankranti together because we had long traditions as a family that went back generations and were important to our family's culture!
This day was a wonderful time to be with family and celebrate together! Today, my grandmother woke up very early on a clear morning to start her day preparing for maghe sankranti after a very long winter. At 3 AM, she opened her door to welcome in the new day and that was the time I entered grandmother's house and the smell of roasted sesame seeds and melted jaggery filled the air! It is the second time in my life that I have been able to participate in this celebration with my family and about the meaning of the holiday and many many different elements .My family told me all of the importance of cleanliness and purity and how food is central to this occasion!
The significance of Maghe Sankranti for my family comes from how we prepare the food. In the past, we made the food together, and everyone had their role in making the Maghe Sankranti food. Some roasted seeds, others made melted sugar and imade warm laddus by hand.
Laddus are not only part of my family traditions, but they are also how we connect to our cultural roots. Each laddu represents our love, legacy and history with the ingredients inside.The first time I had laddu, I was reminded of home. The nutty flavour of the sesame and the sweetness of the sugar combined produced a warm flavour in my mouth and in the body as I was cold outside. Bhuja ko laddu (Bhuja ko laddu is a type of sweet from Nepal and it was one of the main highlights of my trip). I had so much happiness in consuming this everyday item in life; I wanted to make sure that I left Nepal with this cherished traditional sweet.
Chaku on the other hand, provided significant energy due to its dense, sticky texture. My family would often say that during the cold months of winter, chaku helped keep us warm and healthy, and as a family tradition, we have consumed chaku with ghee for many years.
Additional Experiences of Worth in My Trip to Nepal
While celebrating many Festivals, I enjoyed sharing with friends and family foods such as laddus and chakkus; boiled yam (tarul); sweet potatoes; rice with ghee; seasonal vegetables/greens (a mixture of both); There was also sharing of the meal between us, creating more connections with each other and having fun. In Nepal, I believe that Festivals provide great opportunities for families to create happy memories together.
Learning About Maghe Sankranti
My elders taught me many things about Maghe Sankranti on the day of this festival. They discussed how this festival is associated with the events that took place at the holy river where people bath. It is also associated with the act of giving and sharing (charitable acts). My elders' teachings connected me with not only what the elders have learned throughout their lifetimes, but also to the significance of being a Nepali and all the other cultural values that all Nepalis share beyond our similarities, and the importance of respecting our elders through education."
There are many reasons to have a rich and fulfilling life. One of those reasons is to be with people you love. Another is to experience joy, beauty, adventure, adventure's world-changing power, and the friendship of other people.
One of my most profound insights while celebrating the Maghe Sankranti in Nepal was that we can connect with others through tradition, sharing and enjoying food prepared by others, and telling stories together. It did not take much to inspire this connection to each other. We create bonds by sharing what we love with each other; by feeding one another, and creating moments of connection by celebrating our communities together.
Traditions form bonds among individuals and communities. Therefore, by collecting experiences through traditions, people are more capable of realizing all the things that one does not know about others, and thus can understand how much they can learn from each other.
There is much I have gained from my experiences regarding how to foster relationships between myself and my family members and others. As well as providing a firm foundation for establishing an overall support system for my business. The future direction of my family will depend upon this knowledge. Additionally, I have learned that in addition to having a positive experience with the people we care about, there is a significant aspect of happiness and joy within our lives, as well as experiencing the grief that life may bring about.