In Maharashtra, Karnataka as well as parts of Andhra, Makar Sankranti is a day of goodwill and friendship. Sesame ladoos and sugar drops are distributed as a symbol of the need to be generous and kind to everyone.
Women wear new clothes, new glass bangles and hold get-togethers to share sweets and gifts.
A new bride is given ornaments made of sugar drops and her new relatives are invited to meet and welcome her at a Haldi Kumkum celebration. It is the only Hindu festival which falls regularly on the 14 th of January every year. Lohri is the time after which the biting cold of winter begins to taper off. On this day the children go from door to door to collect funds for community bonfires which are lit in the evening. Lohri is more of a community festival, where the birth of a son or the first year of marriage is celebrated with great fun and frolic.