Makar Sankranti 1997
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 moment04:17
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 1997
- Vasant Panchami — 11 February 1997
- Maha Shivaratri — 7 March 1997
- Holika Dahan — 23 March 1997
- Holi — 25 March 1997
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 8 April 1997
- Ram Navami — 16 April 1997
- Akshaya Tritiya — 9 May 1997
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 6 July 1997
- Guru Purnima — 20 July 1997
- Nag Panchami — 8 August 1997
- Raksha Bandhan — 18 August 1997
- Krishna Janmashtami — 24 August 1997
- Hartalika Teej — 5 September 1997
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 6 September 1997
- Anant Chaturdashi — 15 September 1997
- Pitru Paksha begins — 17 September 1997
- Sharad Navratri begins — 2 October 1997
- Durga Ashtami — 9 October 1997
- Maha Navami — 10 October 1997
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 11 October 1997
- Karwa Chauth — 19 October 1997
- Dhanteras — 28 October 1997
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 30 October 1997
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 30 October 1997
- Govardhan Puja — 1 November 1997
- Bhai Dooj — 2 November 1997
- Chhath Puja — 6 November 1997
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 14 November 1997
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 14 November 1997
- Hindu Festivals 1997 →