Makar Sankranti 1968
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 moment17:47
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 1968
- Vasant Panchami — 3 February 1968
- Maha Shivaratri — 26 February 1968
- Holika Dahan — 14 March 1968
- Holi — 15 March 1968
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 29 March 1968
- Ram Navami — 7 April 1968
- Akshaya Tritiya — 30 April 1968
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 28 June 1968
- Guru Purnima — 10 July 1968
- Nag Panchami — 30 July 1968
- Raksha Bandhan — 8 August 1968
- Krishna Janmashtami — 15 August 1968
- Hartalika Teej — 26 August 1968
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 27 August 1968
- Anant Chaturdashi — 5 September 1968
- Pitru Paksha begins — 7 September 1968
- Sharad Navratri begins — 23 September 1968
- Durga Ashtami — 29 September 1968
- Maha Navami — 30 September 1968
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 1 October 1968
- Karwa Chauth — 10 October 1968
- Dhanteras — 19 October 1968
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 21 October 1968
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 21 October 1968
- Govardhan Puja — 22 October 1968
- Bhai Dooj — 23 October 1968
- Chhath Puja — 27 October 1968
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 5 November 1968
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 5 November 1968
- Hindu Festivals 1968 →