Makar Sankranti 2015
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 moment19:05
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 2015
- Vasant Panchami — 24 January 2015
- Maha Shivaratri — 17 February 2015
- Holika Dahan — 5 March 2015
- Holi — 6 March 2015
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 21 March 2015
- Ram Navami — 28 March 2015
- Akshaya Tritiya — 21 April 2015
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 18 July 2015
- Guru Purnima — 31 July 2015
- Nag Panchami — 20 August 2015
- Raksha Bandhan — 29 August 2015
- Krishna Janmashtami — 5 September 2015
- Hartalika Teej — 16 September 2015
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 17 September 2015
- Anant Chaturdashi — 27 September 2015
- Pitru Paksha begins — 28 September 2015
- Sharad Navratri begins — 13 October 2015
- Durga Ashtami — 21 October 2015
- Maha Navami — 22 October 2015
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 22 October 2015
- Karwa Chauth — 30 October 2015
- Dhanteras — 9 November 2015
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 10 November 2015
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 11 November 2015
- Govardhan Puja — 12 November 2015
- Bhai Dooj — 13 November 2015
- Chhath Puja — 17 November 2015
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 25 November 2015
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 25 November 2015
- Hindu Festivals 2015 →