Makar Sankranti 1981
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 moment01:48
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 1981
- Vasant Panchami — 9 February 1981
- Maha Shivaratri — 4 March 1981
- Holika Dahan — 20 March 1981
- Holi — 21 March 1981
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 5 April 1981
- Ram Navami — 12 April 1981
- Akshaya Tritiya — 6 May 1981
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 3 July 1981
- Guru Purnima — 17 July 1981
- Nag Panchami — 5 August 1981
- Raksha Bandhan — 15 August 1981
- Krishna Janmashtami — 22 August 1981
- Hartalika Teej — 1 September 1981
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 2 September 1981
- Anant Chaturdashi — 13 September 1981
- Pitru Paksha begins — 15 September 1981
- Sharad Navratri begins — 29 September 1981
- Durga Ashtami — 6 October 1981
- Maha Navami — 7 October 1981
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 8 October 1981
- Karwa Chauth — 16 October 1981
- Dhanteras — 25 October 1981
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 26 October 1981
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 27 October 1981
- Govardhan Puja — 28 October 1981
- Bhai Dooj — 29 October 1981
- Chhath Puja — 3 November 1981
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 11 November 1981
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 11 November 1981
- Hindu Festivals 1981 →