Makar Sankranti 1978
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 moment07:20
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 1978
- Vasant Panchami — 12 February 1978
- Maha Shivaratri — 7 March 1978
- Holika Dahan — 24 March 1978
- Holi — 25 March 1978
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 8 April 1978
- Ram Navami — 16 April 1978
- Akshaya Tritiya — 10 May 1978
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 7 July 1978
- Guru Purnima — 20 July 1978
- Nag Panchami — 9 August 1978
- Raksha Bandhan — 18 August 1978
- Krishna Janmashtami — 25 August 1978
- Hartalika Teej — 5 September 1978
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 6 September 1978
- Anant Chaturdashi — 15 September 1978
- Pitru Paksha begins — 17 September 1978
- Sharad Navratri begins — 3 October 1978
- Durga Ashtami — 9 October 1978
- Maha Navami — 10 October 1978
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 11 October 1978
- Karwa Chauth — 19 October 1978
- Dhanteras — 29 October 1978
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 30 October 1978
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 31 October 1978
- Govardhan Puja — 1 November 1978
- Bhai Dooj — 2 November 1978
- Chhath Puja — 6 November 1978
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 14 November 1978
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 14 November 1978
- Hindu Festivals 1978 →