Makar Sankranti 2011
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 moment18:28
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 2011
- Vasant Panchami — 8 February 2011
- Maha Shivaratri — 2 March 2011
- Holika Dahan — 19 March 2011
- Holi — 20 March 2011
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 4 April 2011
- Ram Navami — 12 April 2011
- Akshaya Tritiya — 6 May 2011
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 3 July 2011
- Guru Purnima — 15 July 2011
- Nag Panchami — 4 August 2011
- Raksha Bandhan — 13 August 2011
- Krishna Janmashtami — 21 August 2011
- Hartalika Teej — 31 August 2011
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 1 September 2011
- Anant Chaturdashi — 11 September 2011
- Pitru Paksha begins — 13 September 2011
- Sharad Navratri begins — 28 September 2011
- Durga Ashtami — 4 October 2011
- Maha Navami — 5 October 2011
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 6 October 2011
- Karwa Chauth — 15 October 2011
- Dhanteras — 24 October 2011
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 25 October 2011
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 26 October 2011
- Govardhan Puja — 27 October 2011
- Bhai Dooj — 28 October 2011
- Chhath Puja — 1 November 2011
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 10 November 2011
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 10 November 2011
- Hindu Festivals 2011 →