Makar Sankranti 1961
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 moment22:41
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 1961
- Vasant Panchami — 21 January 1961
- Maha Shivaratri — 13 February 1961
- Holika Dahan — 2 March 1961
- Holi — 3 March 1961
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 17 March 1961
- Ram Navami — 25 March 1961
- Akshaya Tritiya — 17 April 1961
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 14 July 1961
- Guru Purnima — 27 July 1961
- Nag Panchami — 16 August 1961
- Raksha Bandhan — 26 August 1961
- Krishna Janmashtami — 1 September 1961
- Hartalika Teej — 13 September 1961
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 14 September 1961
- Anant Chaturdashi — 23 September 1961
- Pitru Paksha begins — 25 September 1961
- Sharad Navratri begins — 10 October 1961
- Durga Ashtami — 17 October 1961
- Maha Navami — 18 October 1961
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 19 October 1961
- Karwa Chauth — 27 October 1961
- Dhanteras — 5 November 1961
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 7 November 1961
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 7 November 1961
- Govardhan Puja — 9 November 1961
- Bhai Dooj — 10 November 1961
- Chhath Puja — 14 November 1961
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 22 November 1961
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 22 November 1961
- Hindu Festivals 1961 →