Makar Sankranti 2009
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 moment06:09
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 2009
- Vasant Panchami — 31 January 2009
- Maha Shivaratri — 23 February 2009
- Holika Dahan — 10 March 2009
- Holi — 12 March 2009
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 27 March 2009
- Ram Navami — 3 April 2009
- Akshaya Tritiya — 27 April 2009
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 24 June 2009
- Guru Purnima — 7 July 2009
- Nag Panchami — 26 July 2009
- Raksha Bandhan — 5 August 2009
- Krishna Janmashtami — 13 August 2009
- Hartalika Teej — 23 August 2009
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 23 August 2009
- Anant Chaturdashi — 3 September 2009
- Pitru Paksha begins — 5 September 2009
- Sharad Navratri begins — 19 September 2009
- Durga Ashtami — 26 September 2009
- Maha Navami — 27 September 2009
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 28 September 2009
- Karwa Chauth — 7 October 2009
- Dhanteras — 15 October 2009
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 17 October 2009
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 17 October 2009
- Govardhan Puja — 19 October 2009
- Bhai Dooj — 20 October 2009
- Chhath Puja — 24 October 2009
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 2 November 2009
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 2 November 2009
- Hindu Festivals 2009 →