Makar Sankranti 1966
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 moment05:28
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 1966
- Vasant Panchami — 27 January 1966
- Maha Shivaratri — 18 February 1966
- Holika Dahan — 6 March 1966
- Holi — 7 March 1966
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 23 March 1966
- Ram Navami — 31 March 1966
- Akshaya Tritiya — 23 April 1966
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 20 June 1966
- Guru Purnima — 2 July 1966
- Nag Panchami — 20 August 1966
- Raksha Bandhan — 30 August 1966
- Krishna Janmashtami — 7 September 1966
- Hartalika Teej — 17 September 1966
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 18 September 1966
- Anant Chaturdashi — 28 September 1966
- Pitru Paksha begins — 30 September 1966
- Sharad Navratri begins — 15 October 1966
- Durga Ashtami — 21 October 1966
- Maha Navami — 22 October 1966
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 23 October 1966
- Karwa Chauth — 1 November 1966
- Dhanteras — 10 November 1966
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 11 November 1966
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 12 November 1966
- Govardhan Puja — 13 November 1966
- Bhai Dooj — 14 November 1966
- Chhath Puja — 18 November 1966
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 28 November 1966
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 28 November 1966
- Hindu Festivals 1966 →