Makar Sankranti 2002
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 moment11:04
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 2002
- Vasant Panchami — 17 February 2002
- Maha Shivaratri — 12 March 2002
- Holika Dahan — 28 March 2002
- Holi — 29 March 2002
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 13 April 2002
- Ram Navami — 21 April 2002
- Akshaya Tritiya — 15 May 2002
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 12 July 2002
- Guru Purnima — 24 July 2002
- Nag Panchami — 13 August 2002
- Raksha Bandhan — 22 August 2002
- Krishna Janmashtami — 30 August 2002
- Hartalika Teej — 9 September 2002
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 10 September 2002
- Anant Chaturdashi — 20 September 2002
- Pitru Paksha begins — 22 September 2002
- Sharad Navratri begins — 7 October 2002
- Durga Ashtami — 13 October 2002
- Maha Navami — 14 October 2002
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 15 October 2002
- Karwa Chauth — 25 October 2002
- Dhanteras — 2 November 2002
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 3 November 2002
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 4 November 2002
- Govardhan Puja — 5 November 2002
- Bhai Dooj — 6 November 2002
- Chhath Puja — 10 November 2002
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 19 November 2002
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 19 November 2002
- Hindu Festivals 2002 →