Meṣa Saṅkrānti is the Sun's ingress into Meṣa (Aries) around mid-April, the lesser-known solar counterpart to Makara Saṅkrānti. It is the solar moment behind several regional new years kept on or near the same day, among them Puthāṇṭu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Poela Baiśākh in Bengal, Pana Saṅkrānti in Odisha and Bohag Bihu in Assam. Each of these has grown its own stories, foods and social customs, so each is honoured as a festival in its own right. How the day is fixed: The observance is the civil day, in local time, on which the Sun enters Meṣa. Keep in mind: Regional pañcāṅgas apply the sāyana and nirayana zodiac slightly differently and decide in their own way which day the moment of ingress belongs to. That is why Puthāṇṭu and Vishu occasionally come a day apart even though they share the same solar event. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. First sight and gifts: In Tamil Nadu, Kerala and coastal Tulunadu the day begins with the kaṇi, an auspicious sight arranged the night before and seen first on waking. Kerala adds the gift of kaineettam. Foods and offerings: Tamil homes cook a raw-mango pachaḍi, Bengal opens the hālkhātā and Assam dances the Bohag Bihu. Odia homes offer pana of bel, curd, chhena and jaggery and hang the basundhara theki over the tulasi platform. Worth remembering: Meṣa Saṅkrānti is the shared solar moment, while Puthāṇṭu, Vishu, Poela Baiśākh, Pana Saṅkrānti and Bohag Bihu are each kept as separate festivals. Ugādi, Guḍhī Pāḍavā and the Gujarati new year follow the lunar calendar and are different days. Each region keeps this ingress in its own way, and within a region each family follows its own kulācāra. Some homes centre the day on the kaṇi, some on new accounts, some on the pana offering. Follow the custom that the elders of your own house have handed down.
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