Makar Sankranti 1998
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 moment10:27
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 1998
- Vasant Panchami — 1 February 1998
- Maha Shivaratri — 25 February 1998
- Holika Dahan — 12 March 1998
- Holi — 14 March 1998
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 28 March 1998
- Ram Navami — 5 April 1998
- Akshaya Tritiya — 28 April 1998
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 26 June 1998
- Guru Purnima — 9 July 1998
- Nag Panchami — 28 July 1998
- Raksha Bandhan — 8 August 1998
- Krishna Janmashtami — 14 August 1998
- Hartalika Teej — 25 August 1998
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 26 August 1998
- Anant Chaturdashi — 5 September 1998
- Pitru Paksha begins — 7 September 1998
- Sharad Navratri begins — 21 September 1998
- Durga Ashtami — 29 September 1998
- Maha Navami — 30 September 1998
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 1 October 1998
- Karwa Chauth — 8 October 1998
- Dhanteras — 17 October 1998
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 19 October 1998
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 19 October 1998
- Govardhan Puja — 21 October 1998
- Bhai Dooj — 22 October 1998
- Chhath Puja — 26 October 1998
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 4 November 1998
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 4 November 1998
- Hindu Festivals 1998 →