Makar Sankranti 2012
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 moment00:37
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 2012
- Vasant Panchami — 28 January 2012
- Maha Shivaratri — 20 February 2012
- Holika Dahan — 7 March 2012
- Holi — 9 March 2012
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 23 March 2012
- Ram Navami — 1 April 2012
- Akshaya Tritiya — 24 April 2012
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 21 June 2012
- Guru Purnima — 3 July 2012
- Nag Panchami — 24 July 2012
- Raksha Bandhan — 2 August 2012
- Krishna Janmashtami — 8 September 2012
- Hartalika Teej — 18 September 2012
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 19 September 2012
- Anant Chaturdashi — 29 September 2012
- Pitru Paksha begins — 1 October 2012
- Sharad Navratri begins — 16 October 2012
- Durga Ashtami — 22 October 2012
- Maha Navami — 23 October 2012
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 24 October 2012
- Karwa Chauth — 2 November 2012
- Dhanteras — 11 November 2012
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 13 November 2012
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 13 November 2012
- Govardhan Puja — 14 November 2012
- Bhai Dooj — 15 November 2012
- Chhath Puja — 19 November 2012
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 28 November 2012
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 28 November 2012
- Hindu Festivals 2012 →