Makar Sankranti 1956
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 moment15:55
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 1956
- Vasant Panchami — 16 February 1956
- Maha Shivaratri — 10 March 1956
- Holika Dahan — 26 March 1956
- Holi — 27 March 1956
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 12 April 1956
- Ram Navami — 19 April 1956
- Akshaya Tritiya — 12 May 1956
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 9 July 1956
- Guru Purnima — 22 July 1956
- Nag Panchami — 10 August 1956
- Raksha Bandhan — 21 August 1956
- Krishna Janmashtami — 28 August 1956
- Hartalika Teej — 7 September 1956
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 8 September 1956
- Anant Chaturdashi — 19 September 1956
- Pitru Paksha begins — 21 September 1956
- Sharad Navratri begins — 5 October 1956
- Durga Ashtami — 12 October 1956
- Maha Navami — 13 October 1956
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 14 October 1956
- Karwa Chauth — 22 October 1956
- Dhanteras — 31 October 1956
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 1 November 1956
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 2 November 1956
- Govardhan Puja — 3 November 1956
- Bhai Dooj — 4 November 1956
- Chhath Puja — 8 November 1956
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 18 November 1956
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 18 November 1956
- Hindu Festivals 1956 →