Makar Sankranti 2005
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 moment05:32
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 2005
- Vasant Panchami — 13 February 2005
- Maha Shivaratri — 8 March 2005
- Holika Dahan — 25 March 2005
- Holi — 26 March 2005
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 9 April 2005
- Ram Navami — 17 April 2005
- Akshaya Tritiya — 11 May 2005
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 8 July 2005
- Guru Purnima — 21 July 2005
- Nag Panchami — 10 August 2005
- Raksha Bandhan — 19 August 2005
- Krishna Janmashtami — 26 August 2005
- Hartalika Teej — 6 September 2005
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 7 September 2005
- Anant Chaturdashi — 17 September 2005
- Pitru Paksha begins — 18 September 2005
- Sharad Navratri begins — 4 October 2005
- Durga Ashtami — 11 October 2005
- Maha Navami — 12 October 2005
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 12 October 2005
- Karwa Chauth — 20 October 2005
- Dhanteras — 30 October 2005
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 1 November 2005
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 1 November 2005
- Govardhan Puja — 3 November 2005
- Bhai Dooj — 3 November 2005
- Chhath Puja — 7 November 2005
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 16 November 2005
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 16 November 2005
- Hindu Festivals 2005 →