Festival · 2026
Makar Sankranti 2026 — Wednesday, 14 January 2026
Makar Sankranti is the harvest festival of the Sun’s entry into Capricorn, marked across India with holy baths, sesame sweets, kites and generous giving.
In 2026
Wednesday, 14 January 2026
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:15 AM / 5:45 PM
- Sankranti moment
- 3:07 PM
| Punya kaal | 3:07 PM – 5:45 PM |
|---|
Rule: The day the Sun enters sidereal Capricorn (Makara). If the ingress is after sunset, the festival and its punya kaal move to the next day.
In 2027
Friday, 15 January 2027
- Sunrise / sunset
- 7:14 AM / 5:45 PM
- Sankranti moment
- 14 Jan, 9:10 PM
| Punya kaal | 7:14 AM – 12:30 PM |
|---|
Rule: The day the Sun enters sidereal Capricorn (Makara). If the ingress is after sunset, the festival and its punya kaal move to the next day.
Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar
What is Makar Sankranti?
Makar Sankranti marks the day the Sun enters Makara, the sidereal sign of Capricorn. Unlike most Hindu festivals, it follows the Sun rather than the Moon, which is why its date barely moves from year to year. It is one of the few festivals celebrated across almost all of India under different names, and tradition links it with the start of Uttarayana, the Sun’s northward journey.
Tradition holds that Uttarayana is the auspicious half of the year. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma lies on his bed of arrows and waits for the Sun to turn north before leaving his body. Another story tells of the Sun visiting his son Shani, lord of Capricorn, despite their differences, so the day is also read as one for mending relationships. Sharing sesame and jaggery carries the same idea: warmth and sweetness in the cold of winter.
Astronomically, the winter solstice now falls a few weeks before Makar Sankranti; the two coincided many centuries ago, and the festival kept its sidereal anchor. For farmers in much of India it is a harvest festival, when the new crop of rice, sugarcane and sesame comes home and the days are visibly lengthening. It is a day of gratitude to the Sun, the land and the cattle, and many families treat giving as its heart.
How it is observed
- Taking an early bath, ideally in a river or at a confluence; many travel to Prayagraj, Haridwar or Gangasagar for it.
- Offering water (arghya) to the rising Sun.
- Giving daan during the punya kaal: sesame, jaggery, khichdi, blankets, warm clothes or grain.
- Making and sharing til-gud laddoos, gajak, chikki and khichdi.
- Flying kites, especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
- Lighting bonfires on the eve in Punjab (Lohri) and cooking the new harvest as Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
How the date is fixed
Makar Sankranti is fixed by the Sun, not the Moon. Our calendar calculates the exact moment the Sun enters sidereal Capricorn (Makara), using the Lahiri ayanamsa. If that moment falls before sunset, that day is Makar Sankranti, and the punya kaal, the window for bathing and giving, runs from the moment of entry until sunset. If the Sun enters Makara after sunset, the festival and its punya kaal move to the next day.
Where practice differs
The same season is celebrated as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Magh Bihu (Bhogali Bihu) in Assam and Khichdi in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; Punjab celebrates Lohri on the eve, and Kerala’s Makaravilakku at Sabarimala falls at this time. Because the festival follows the Sun, there is no purnimanta or amanta difference in its date. Some almanacs use a different ayanamsa or a different sunset rule, so a calendar may occasionally show the next day.
Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.
Questions people ask
Why is Makar Sankranti almost always on the same date?
Because it follows the Sun’s entry into Capricorn, not a lunar tithi. The solar year is nearly constant in length, so the date shifts by a day only now and then, depending on the exact moment of entry and sunset.
What is the punya kaal of Makar Sankranti?
It is the window from the moment the Sun enters Makara until sunset, considered the best time for bathing and giving. If the entry happens after sunset, the punya kaal is observed the next day. This year’s window is shown above.
Is Makar Sankranti the same as Uttarayana?
Tradition treats them as one, marking the start of the Sun’s northward half of the year. Astronomically, the Sun turns north at the winter solstice, which now comes a few weeks earlier.