Makar Sankranti 1971
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 moment12:15
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 1971
- Vasant Panchami — 31 January 1971
- Maha Shivaratri — 23 February 1971
- Holika Dahan — 11 March 1971
- Holi — 13 March 1971
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 27 March 1971
- Ram Navami — 3 April 1971
- Akshaya Tritiya — 27 April 1971
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 24 June 1971
- Guru Purnima — 8 July 1971
- Nag Panchami — 27 July 1971
- Raksha Bandhan — 6 August 1971
- Krishna Janmashtami — 13 August 1971
- Hartalika Teej — 24 August 1971
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 25 August 1971
- Anant Chaturdashi — 4 September 1971
- Pitru Paksha begins — 6 September 1971
- Sharad Navratri begins — 20 September 1971
- Durga Ashtami — 28 September 1971
- Maha Navami — 29 September 1971
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 29 September 1971
- Karwa Chauth — 7 October 1971
- Dhanteras — 16 October 1971
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 18 October 1971
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 18 October 1971
- Govardhan Puja — 20 October 1971
- Bhai Dooj — 21 October 1971
- Chhath Puja — 25 October 1971
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 2 November 1971
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 2 November 1971
- Hindu Festivals 1971 →