Makar Sankranti 2004
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 moment23:23
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 2004
- Vasant Panchami — 26 January 2004
- Maha Shivaratri — 18 February 2004
- Holika Dahan — 6 March 2004
- Holi — 7 March 2004
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 21 March 2004
- Ram Navami — 30 March 2004
- Akshaya Tritiya — 22 April 2004
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 19 June 2004
- Guru Purnima — 2 July 2004
- Nag Panchami — 21 August 2004
- Raksha Bandhan — 30 August 2004
- Krishna Janmashtami — 6 September 2004
- Hartalika Teej — 17 September 2004
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 18 September 2004
- Anant Chaturdashi — 27 September 2004
- Pitru Paksha begins — 29 September 2004
- Sharad Navratri begins — 15 October 2004
- Durga Ashtami — 21 October 2004
- Maha Navami — 22 October 2004
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 22 October 2004
- Karwa Chauth — 31 October 2004
- Dhanteras — 10 November 2004
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 11 November 2004
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 12 November 2004
- Govardhan Puja — 13 November 2004
- Bhai Dooj — 14 November 2004
- Chhath Puja — 17 November 2004
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 26 November 2004
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 26 November 2004
- Hindu Festivals 2004 →