Makar Sankranti 1949
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 moment20:49
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 1949
- Vasant Panchami — 3 February 1949
- Maha Shivaratri — 25 February 1949
- Holika Dahan — 14 March 1949
- Holi — 15 March 1949
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 30 March 1949
- Ram Navami — 7 April 1949
- Akshaya Tritiya — 1 May 1949
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 28 June 1949
- Guru Purnima — 10 July 1949
- Nag Panchami — 30 July 1949
- Raksha Bandhan — 8 August 1949
- Krishna Janmashtami — 16 August 1949
- Hartalika Teej — 26 August 1949
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 27 August 1949
- Anant Chaturdashi — 6 September 1949
- Pitru Paksha begins — 8 September 1949
- Sharad Navratri begins — 23 September 1949
- Durga Ashtami — 29 September 1949
- Maha Navami — 30 September 1949
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 1 October 1949
- Karwa Chauth — 10 October 1949
- Dhanteras — 19 October 1949
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 21 October 1949
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 21 October 1949
- Govardhan Puja — 22 October 1949
- Bhai Dooj — 23 October 1949
- Chhath Puja — 27 October 1949
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 5 November 1949
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 5 November 1949
- Hindu Festivals 1949 →