Makar Sankranti 2010
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 moment12:19
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 2010
- Vasant Panchami — 20 January 2010
- Maha Shivaratri — 12 February 2010
- Holika Dahan — 28 February 2010
- Holi — 1 March 2010
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 16 March 2010
- Ram Navami — 24 March 2010
- Akshaya Tritiya — 16 May 2010
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 13 July 2010
- Guru Purnima — 25 July 2010
- Nag Panchami — 14 August 2010
- Raksha Bandhan — 24 August 2010
- Krishna Janmashtami — 1 September 2010
- Hartalika Teej — 10 September 2010
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 11 September 2010
- Anant Chaturdashi — 22 September 2010
- Pitru Paksha begins — 24 September 2010
- Sharad Navratri begins — 8 October 2010
- Durga Ashtami — 15 October 2010
- Maha Navami — 16 October 2010
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 17 October 2010
- Karwa Chauth — 26 October 2010
- Dhanteras — 3 November 2010
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 5 November 2010
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 5 November 2010
- Govardhan Puja — 7 November 2010
- Bhai Dooj — 8 November 2010
- Chhath Puja — 11 November 2010
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 21 November 2010
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 21 November 2010
- Hindu Festivals 2010 →