Festivals
The Sun enters Capricorn — a harvest festival of sesame sweets and holy dips.
Annual festival: general observance date from the 2026 government holiday list. Local ritual times may differ. Other years require reviewed dates. CGCA · 2026
| Deity | Surya (Sun) |
|---|---|
| Region | Pan-India |
| Significance | Winter solstice harvest |
| Occurs | Annual festival: general observance date from the 2026 government holiday list. Local ritual times may differ. Other years require reviewed dates. |
The Sun enters Capricorn — a harvest festival of sesame sweets and holy dips.
The Sun enters Capricorn — a harvest festival of sesame sweets and holy dips.
Makar Sankranti marks the Sun's transit into the zodiac sign Capricorn (Makar). It is one of the few major Indian festivals tied to a solar date rather than the moon, and so falls on almost the same day every year — 14 or 15 January.
It is celebrated across the country under different names: Pongal in the south, Magh Bihu in Assam, Uttarayan in Gujarat. The day is associated with harvest, new beginnings, kite-flying and, in many traditions, ritual bathing in holy rivers.