Makar Sankranti 1988
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 moment20:53
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 1988
- Vasant Panchami — 23 January 1988
- Maha Shivaratri — 16 February 1988
- Holika Dahan — 3 March 1988
- Holi — 4 March 1988
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 18 March 1988
- Ram Navami — 26 March 1988
- Akshaya Tritiya — 19 April 1988
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 15 July 1988
- Guru Purnima — 29 July 1988
- Nag Panchami — 17 August 1988
- Raksha Bandhan — 27 August 1988
- Krishna Janmashtami — 2 September 1988
- Hartalika Teej — 14 September 1988
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 15 September 1988
- Anant Chaturdashi — 24 September 1988
- Pitru Paksha begins — 26 September 1988
- Sharad Navratri begins — 11 October 1988
- Durga Ashtami — 18 October 1988
- Maha Navami — 19 October 1988
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 20 October 1988
- Karwa Chauth — 28 October 1988
- Dhanteras — 6 November 1988
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 8 November 1988
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 9 November 1988
- Govardhan Puja — 10 November 1988
- Bhai Dooj — 11 November 1988
- Chhath Puja — 15 November 1988
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 23 November 1988
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 23 November 1988
- Hindu Festivals 1988 →