Makar Sankranti 1959
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 moment10:23
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 1959
- Vasant Panchami — 12 February 1959
- Maha Shivaratri — 7 March 1959
- Holika Dahan — 24 March 1959
- Holi — 25 March 1959
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 9 April 1959
- Ram Navami — 17 April 1959
- Akshaya Tritiya — 10 May 1959
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 8 July 1959
- Guru Purnima — 20 July 1959
- Nag Panchami — 9 August 1959
- Raksha Bandhan — 18 August 1959
- Krishna Janmashtami — 26 August 1959
- Hartalika Teej — 5 September 1959
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 6 September 1959
- Anant Chaturdashi — 16 September 1959
- Pitru Paksha begins — 18 September 1959
- Sharad Navratri begins — 3 October 1959
- Durga Ashtami — 9 October 1959
- Maha Navami — 10 October 1959
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 11 October 1959
- Karwa Chauth — 20 October 1959
- Dhanteras — 29 October 1959
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 31 October 1959
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 31 October 1959
- Govardhan Puja — 1 November 1959
- Bhai Dooj — 2 November 1959
- Chhath Puja — 6 November 1959
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 15 November 1959
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 15 November 1959
- Hindu Festivals 1959 →