🪁 Makar Sankranti (Khichdi / Pongal / Lohri) 2027
The Sun enters Capricorn — the start of Uttarayan; sesame-jaggery, khichdi, Ganga bath, kites, charity and a different name in every part of the country.
- Lohri (Punjab) / Bhogi (South) — Wednesday, 13 January 2027
- Makar Sankranti / Pongal / Magh Bihu — Thursday, 14 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is the festival of the year fixed not by the lunar tithi but by the Sun — the day the Sun moves from Sagittarius (Dhanu) into Capricorn (Makar), usually 14 January, sometimes 15. With it Uttarayan begins, the days start growing longer, and Kharmas (Malmas) ends so that wedding muhurats open again.
It is the festival of the farmer and the housewife — a celebration of the new harvest (paddy, sugarcane, sesame): sesame-jaggery laddoos, khichdi, the Ganga bath, charity and kites. The name changes with the region — Khichdi in UP-Bihar, Lohri a day earlier in Punjab, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Magh Bihu in Assam, Tilgul in Maharashtra. Below are this year's date, the punya-kaal for bath and charity, vidhi, samagri, katha, dishes and the customs of every region.
Significance — why this vrat
Uttarayan is regarded as the day of the gods — Bhishma Pitamah waited for Uttarayan on his bed of arrows and left his body after Makar Sankranti. The bath and charity of this day (especially sesame, jaggery, khichdi, blankets) give imperishable merit.
Punya-kaal: from the moment of the Sankranti until sunset that day (or 16 ghatis); if the Sankranti happens after sunset, the next day is the festival day. This is why it is sometimes 14 and sometimes 15 January — the date above is from the engine. The maha-punya-kaal is about 2 ghatis (48 minutes) right after the Sankranti.
Women's customs: sharing tilgul ('Tilgul ghya, god bola'), haldi-kumkum, giving vaan/bayana to married women, the 'bornahan' of a new bride or child; in Bihar-Purvanchal dahi-chura-tilkut, the eldest woman of the house giving sesame to all with her blessing.
Puja vidhi (step by step)
This is the household vidhi — a dawn bath, arghya to the Sun, sesame-jaggery-khichdi as charity and bhog, kites/fields.
- In Brahma Muhurat/at sunrise (time above) bathe in a river or pond, or at home with sesame and Gangajal added to the water — the 'til-snan'; new/clean clothes.
- Arghya of water, sesame and red flowers to the rising Sun from a copper lota — 'Om Ghrini Suryaya Namah' or the Aditya Hridaya; bow to the Uttarayan Sun.
- Worship of Surya and Vishnu at the home temple; bhog of sesame-jaggery laddoos and khichdi (rice with urad/moong dal); Tulsi leaf.
- Charity (in the punya-kaal, before sunset): black sesame, jaggery, raw khichdi ingredients (rice-dal-ghee-salt-turmeric), blankets/woollens, ghee, oil — to a Brahmin, the needy, a gaushala; 'til-daan' is the greatest charity of the day.
- Women: haldi-kumkum, tilgul and bayana (vaan — 13 items: vessel/comb/bangles etc.) to married women; the eldest woman gives sesame to everyone with her blessing; the bornahan of a new bride/infant (a shower of ber, sesame and puffed rice).
- Kites during the day (Gujarat-Rajasthan-UP), worship of the new crop in the fields, sesame-jaggery to cows and bullocks; a khichdi dinner with the family in the evening.
- Lohri a day earlier (Punjab-Haryana): a bonfire at night with offerings of sesame, rewri, peanuts and corn, circling the fire, the 'Sundar Mundariye' song, special for homes with a new bride or newborn.
- Pongal (Tamil Nadu): Bhogi (burning old things on day one) → Thai Pongal (boiling milk and rice over in a new pot — 'Pongalo Pongal!') → Mattu Pongal (cows and bullocks) → Kaanum Pongal (family gathering).
Puja samagri checklist
Sesame and jaggery are the soul of this festival — make the laddoos a day earlier.
- Black/white sesame, jaggery, peanuts, rewri, gajak, puffed rice
- Khichdi: new rice, urad/moong dal, ghee, turmeric, salt — for both bhog and charity
- Copper lota for the Sun arghya, red flowers, akshat, Gangajal
- Charity: blankets, woollens, ghee-oil, khichdi ingredients, dakshina
- Haldi-kumkum, the 13 items of vaan/bayana for married women (Maharashtra custom)
- Ber, sesame, puffed rice and halwa for the bornahan of a new bride/infant
- Kite and thread (Gujarat-UP), wood and dung cakes for Lohri, corn-rewri
- Pongal: a new clay pot, new rice, milk, jaggery, sugarcane, turmeric leaf; kolam colours
- Dahi-chura-tilkut (Bihar-Purvanchal)
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Open panchang →Vrat katha (the story)
Surya Dev was estranged from his son Shani (a story linked to Shani's mother Chhaya). Capricorn is Shani's house — on Makar Sankranti the Sun visits his son Shani's home for a month, and it is a day of reunion of father and son; it is said Shani welcomed his father with sesame and jaggery, hence the custom of tilgul and the lesson 'eat sesame-jaggery, speak sweetly'.
In the Mahabharata, Bhishma Pitamah waited 58 days on the bed of arrows for Uttarayan — because one who leaves the body in Uttarayan is freed from rebirth; after Makar Sankranti (Magha Shukla Ashtami) he gave up his life. That is why this is also a day of moksha and tarpan for ancestors.
The descent of the Ganga — by Bhagiratha's penance the Ganga reached the ashram of sage Kapila on this day, liberated the sons of Sagara and merged into the sea; hence the great bath of Makar Sankranti at Gangasagar (Bengal) — 'every tirtha again and again, Gangasagar once'.
Tilgul, khichdi, Pongal — the food of every region
It is a harvest festival, so every region's dish comes from its own crop — khichdi-tilkut in the north, tilgul-undhiyu in the west, Pongal in the south, pitha and dahi-chura in the east.
- Sesame-jaggery laddoos (roasted sesame in jaggery syrup — 1 cup sesame : ¾ cup jaggery), gajak, rewri, tilkut
- Khichdi (UP-Bihar): new rice + urad dal, ghee-asafoetida-cumin; with ghee, curd, pickle, papad, potato-cauliflower sabzi
- Dahi-chura-jaggery (Bihar-Jharkhand), tilkut, lai (puffed rice-jaggery)
- Undhiyu-jalebi, chikki (Gujarat); gulpoli, tilgul (Maharashtra); pinni, sarson ka saag with makki roti, jaggery kheer (Punjab)
- Sakkarai Pongal (milk-rice-jaggery-ghee-cashew boiled over in a new pot) and Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu); ellu-bella (Karnataka); pitha of sesame and coconut (Assam-Bengal-Odisha); ghugri/chivda
Regional customs
One Sun festival, ten names — every state with its own harvest and custom.
A custom, tale, song or dish heard from your grandmother — 2-4 lines; after reading we add it on this page with your region's name (the phone is never shown — only to ask you back).
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✅ Do
- Bath and charity in the punya-kaal (Sankranti to sunset) — date above; sesame is the greatest charity
- Arghya to the rising Sun; share tilgul with a vow to speak sweetly
- Donate blankets/woollens — most useful in the middle of winter
- Sesame-jaggery and green fodder to cows and bullocks; honour the field and the new crop
- Haldi-kumkum-sesame to married women; blessing from the eldest of the house
❌ Don't
- No Chinese/glass-coated kite thread — it kills birds and people, use cotton thread; no children alone on terrace edges
- Care with loose clothes and children near the Lohri/meji fire
- If the Sankranti falls after sunset do not give charity that night — the next day in the punya-kaal
- Cutting hair and nails, quarrels, tamasic food — traditionally avoided on this day
- Charity grain never spoilt or leftover — give what you would eat yourself
Frequently asked questions
When is Makar Sankranti in 2027 — 14 or 15 January?
The date at the top comes from the engine's solar calculation — the day the Sun enters Capricorn (the next day if the Sankranti falls after sunset). Nowadays usually 14 January, in some years 15; it moves a day later roughly every 72 years.
What is the punya-kaal, when to give charity?
From the moment of the Sankranti until sunset that day (16 ghatis in the shastras); the 48 minutes right after the Sankranti are the 'maha-punya-kaal'. Bath and charity within it — best from sunrise to noon.
Why sesame and jaggery?
Sesame and jaggery give warmth and strength in the cold (Ayurveda); in the katha Shani welcomed his father Surya with them; sesame charity is linked to the ancestors and moksha — so eat, share and donate.
Are Lohri, Pongal, Bihu and Makar Sankranti the same?
All celebrate the Sun's entry into Capricorn and the new harvest — Lohri the night before (Punjab), four-day Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Magh Bihu (Assam), Uttarayan (Gujarat), Khichdi (UP-Bihar) — different names and dishes, one Sun.
What is Kharmas and why does it end with the Sankranti?
The month the Sun stays in Sagittarius (mid-December to Makar Sankranti) is Kharmas/Malmas — weddings and griha pravesh are avoided; with the entry into Capricorn, Uttarayan and auspicious works resume. Wedding dates are on the muhurat page.
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✅ Saved — you will get a message a day before the next vrat.Something went wrong — please try again.⏳ Saving…Also read: Sakat Chauth (Tilkut Chaturthi) · Paush Purnima · Mauni Amavasya · Wedding muhurat (after Kharmas)
⚠️ This description follows traditional vidhi and folk belief; your own family custom comes first. Safety with kites and bonfires comes first.
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