Makar Sankranti 1979
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 moment13:29
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 1979
- Vasant Panchami — 1 February 1979
- Maha Shivaratri — 25 February 1979
- Holika Dahan — 13 March 1979
- Holi — 14 March 1979
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 28 March 1979
- Ram Navami — 5 April 1979
- Akshaya Tritiya — 29 April 1979
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 26 June 1979
- Guru Purnima — 9 July 1979
- Nag Panchami — 29 July 1979
- Raksha Bandhan — 8 August 1979
- Krishna Janmashtami — 14 August 1979
- Hartalika Teej — 25 August 1979
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 26 August 1979
- Anant Chaturdashi — 5 September 1979
- Pitru Paksha begins — 7 September 1979
- Sharad Navratri begins — 22 September 1979
- Durga Ashtami — 29 September 1979
- Maha Navami — 30 September 1979
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 1 October 1979
- Karwa Chauth — 8 October 1979
- Dhanteras — 18 October 1979
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 19 October 1979
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 20 October 1979
- Govardhan Puja — 22 October 1979
- Bhai Dooj — 23 October 1979
- Chhath Puja — 27 October 1979
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 4 November 1979
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 4 November 1979
- Hindu Festivals 1979 →