Makar Sankranti 1940
The Sun's entry into sidereal Capricorn — kite-flying, til-gud and holy dips; celebrated as Pongal in the south.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankranti moment13:25
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Makar Sankranti puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaMakar Sankranti — Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Makar Sankranti fall on almost the same date every year?
It is a solar festival, fixed by the Sun's entry into sidereal Makara, not by a lunar tithi. Lunar festivals drift against the civil calendar; this one does not.
What is punya kaal?
The meritorious window reckoned from the moment of the sankranti, during which bathing and charity carry the festival's full merit. If the sankranti falls after sunset, it shifts to the next morning.
Why are til and gur given on this day?
Sesame and jaggery are exchanged with the wish that speech between the giver and receiver stay sweet. Giving — of til, gur, blankets or grain — is the central act of the day.
Other major festivals in 1940
- Vasant Panchami — 13 February 1940
- Maha Shivaratri — 7 March 1940
- Holika Dahan — 23 March 1940
- Holi — 24 March 1940
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 8 April 1940
- Ram Navami — 16 April 1940
- Akshaya Tritiya — 10 May 1940
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 7 July 1940
- Guru Purnima — 19 July 1940
- Nag Panchami — 8 August 1940
- Raksha Bandhan — 17 August 1940
- Krishna Janmashtami — 25 August 1940
- Hartalika Teej — 4 September 1940
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 5 September 1940
- Anant Chaturdashi — 15 September 1940
- Pitru Paksha begins — 17 September 1940
- Sharad Navratri begins — 2 October 1940
- Durga Ashtami — 8 October 1940
- Maha Navami — 9 October 1940
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 10 October 1940
- Karwa Chauth — 20 October 1940
- Dhanteras — 28 October 1940
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 30 October 1940
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 30 October 1940
- Govardhan Puja — 31 October 1940
- Bhai Dooj — 1 November 1940
- Chhath Puja — 5 November 1940
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 14 November 1940
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 14 November 1940
- Hindu Festivals 1940 →