The largest spiritual gathering of women in the world

Once a year, millions of women from all over India travel to Thiruvananthapuram to participate in what is considered the largest spiritual gathering of women in the world. The event centers around the offering of Pongala to goddess Bhadrakali, the fierce form of the Devi.

Worship during Attukal Pongala at Tippu Street, South Fort, Thiruvananthapuram

Sources:

Gingrich, J. (2018, September 05). The Festival Where Millions of Women Prepare a Feast for a Goddess. Retrieved September 9, 2018, from https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/indian-festival-all-women

Srinivas, R. (2007, April 08). Worship during Attukal Pongala at Tippu Street, South Fort, Thiruvananthapuram [Digital image]. Retrieved September 9, 2018, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pongale1.jpg CC-BY-SA-3.0

Happy Makar Sankranti

Happy Makar Sankranti

According to Wikipedia (paraphrase follows),

Makar Sankranti refers both to a specific solar day in the Hindu calendar. It marks the first day of sun's transit into the Makara (Capricorn). It is one of the few Hindu festivals that is observed according to the solar cycle. The lunar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar sets most Hindu festivals. Makar Sankranti falls on the same Gregorian date every year (January 14), except in rare years when the date shifts by a day, due to earth-sun relative movement. 

It is celebrated in many parts of India and is known by different names and celebrated with different customs in different parts of the region: for example, it is called Lohri in Punjab, Uttarayan in Gujarat, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Lohri Bonfire