Makar Sankranti 1999
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 moment16:36
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 1999
- Vasant Panchami — 22 January 1999
- Maha Shivaratri — 14 February 1999
- Holika Dahan — 1 March 1999
- Holi — 3 March 1999
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 18 March 1999
- Ram Navami — 25 March 1999
- Akshaya Tritiya — 18 April 1999
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 14 July 1999
- Guru Purnima — 28 July 1999
- Nag Panchami — 16 August 1999
- Raksha Bandhan — 26 August 1999
- Krishna Janmashtami — 2 September 1999
- Hartalika Teej — 12 September 1999
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 13 September 1999
- Anant Chaturdashi — 24 September 1999
- Pitru Paksha begins — 26 September 1999
- Sharad Navratri begins — 10 October 1999
- Durga Ashtami — 18 October 1999
- Maha Navami — 19 October 1999
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 19 October 1999
- Karwa Chauth — 27 October 1999
- Dhanteras — 5 November 1999
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 7 November 1999
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 7 November 1999
- Govardhan Puja — 9 November 1999
- Bhai Dooj — 10 November 1999
- Chhath Puja — 14 November 1999
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 23 November 1999
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 23 November 1999
- Hindu Festivals 1999 →