Makar Sankranti 1987
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 moment14:44
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 1987
- Vasant Panchami — 3 February 1987
- Maha Shivaratri — 26 February 1987
- Holika Dahan — 14 March 1987
- Holi — 16 March 1987
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 30 March 1987
- Ram Navami — 7 April 1987
- Akshaya Tritiya — 30 April 1987
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 28 June 1987
- Guru Purnima — 11 July 1987
- Nag Panchami — 31 July 1987
- Raksha Bandhan — 9 August 1987
- Krishna Janmashtami — 16 August 1987
- Hartalika Teej — 27 August 1987
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 28 August 1987
- Anant Chaturdashi — 6 September 1987
- Pitru Paksha begins — 8 September 1987
- Sharad Navratri begins — 24 September 1987
- Durga Ashtami — 30 September 1987
- Maha Navami — 1 October 1987
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 2 October 1987
- Karwa Chauth — 10 October 1987
- Dhanteras — 20 October 1987
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 21 October 1987
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 22 October 1987
- Govardhan Puja — 23 October 1987
- Bhai Dooj — 24 October 1987
- Chhath Puja — 28 October 1987
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 5 November 1987
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 5 November 1987
- Hindu Festivals 1987 →