Makar Sankranti 2017 Date — Saturday, January 14, 2017
When is Makar Sankranti in 2017? Makar Sankranti 2017 falls on Saturday, January 14, 2017.
Observance: Makar Sankranti (Pongal). City calendars may vary slightly by sunrise and amanta or purnimanta tradition — confirm with your local mandir.
Makar Sankranti 2017 — full list of dates
| Observance | Date & day | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bhogi | Fri, 13 January 2017 | |
| Makar Sankranti / Thai Pongal | Sat, 14 January 2017 | Main day |
| Mattu Pongal | Sun, 15 January 2017 | |
| Kaanum Pongal | Mon, 16 January 2017 |
Why we celebrate
The Sun enters sidereal Makara (Capricorn) and begins Uttarayana, its northward journey. It is the one major Hindu festival fixed to the solar calendar rather than the moon, so it lands on 14 or 15 January every year. In Tamil Nadu the same day is Thai Pongal, the harvest thanksgiving that opens the auspicious month of Thai.
Regional notes
Tamil Nadu: Thai Pongal. Andhra and Telangana: three-day Sankranti with Bhogi and Kanuma. Karnataka: Suggi Habba with ellu-bella exchange. Maharashtra: til-gul with the greeting 'til-gul ghya, god god bola'. Gujarat and Rajasthan: Uttarayan kites. Punjab: Maghi, the morning after Lohri. Assam: Magh Bihu with meji bonfires.
How it is celebrated
Four days in the Tamil country: Bhogi (bonfire of the old), Thai Pongal (the pongal pot boiling over), Mattu Pongal (honouring cattle) and Kaanum Pongal (family outings). Elsewhere it is Uttarayan kite flying in Gujarat, Lohri and Maghi in Punjab, Magh Bihu in Assam, Khichdi in Uttar Pradesh, and holy dips at Ganga Sagar, Prayagraj and Haridwar.
Puja timing
Punya Kaal is the roughly forty ghatis (about sixteen hours) after the Sun's ingress into Makara; if the transit happens after sunset the whole observance shifts to the next sunrise, which is why some years fall on 15 January.
Foods & offerings
Sakkarai pongal and ven pongal, sugarcane, til-gul laddu and gajak, khichdi, pitha in Assam.
Rituals
- Boil the pongal pot at sunrise and let it overflow while calling 'Pongalo Pongal'.
- Bathe in a river or take a sankalpa snan at home before sunrise.
- Draw a kolam or rangoli at the doorway.
- Give til-gul, grain or cloth as daan.
Makar Sankranti dates by year
| Year | Date & day |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Fri, 15 January 2016 |
| 2017 | Sat, 14 January 2017 |
| 2018 | Sun, 14 January 2018 |
| 2019 | Tue, 15 January 2019 |
| 2020 | Wed, 15 January 2020 |
Hindu festivals around Makar Sankranti 2017
- Pongal 2017 date — Sat, 14 January 2017
- Vasant Panchami 2017 date — Wed, 1 February 2017
- Thaipusam 2017 date — Fri, 10 February 2017
- Maha Shivaratri 2017 date — Sat, 25 February 2017
- Holika Dahan 2017 date — Sun, 12 March 2017
- Holi 2017 date — Mon, 13 March 2017
- Ugadi 2017 date — Tue, 28 March 2017
- Gudi Padwa 2017 date — Tue, 28 March 2017
- Chaitra Navratri 2017 date — Tue, 28 March 2017
- Ram Navami 2017 date — Wed, 5 April 2017
- Hanuman Jayanti 2017 date — Tue, 11 April 2017
- Vishu 2017 date — Fri, 14 April 2017
