Makar Sankranti 2019
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 moment19:43
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 2019
- Vasant Panchami — 10 February 2019
- Maha Shivaratri — 4 March 2019
- Holika Dahan — 20 March 2019
- Holi — 21 March 2019
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 6 April 2019
- Ram Navami — 13 April 2019
- Akshaya Tritiya — 7 May 2019
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 4 July 2019
- Guru Purnima — 16 July 2019
- Nag Panchami — 5 August 2019
- Raksha Bandhan — 15 August 2019
- Krishna Janmashtami — 23 August 2019
- Hartalika Teej — 1 September 2019
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 2 September 2019
- Anant Chaturdashi — 12 September 2019
- Pitru Paksha begins — 15 September 2019
- Sharad Navratri begins — 29 September 2019
- Durga Ashtami — 6 October 2019
- Maha Navami — 7 October 2019
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 7 October 2019
- Karwa Chauth — 17 October 2019
- Dhanteras — 25 October 2019
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 27 October 2019
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 27 October 2019
- Govardhan Puja — 29 October 2019
- Bhai Dooj — 29 October 2019
- Chhath Puja — 2 November 2019
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 12 November 2019
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 12 November 2019
- Hindu Festivals 2019 →