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Makar Sankranti 2097 Date — Tuesday, January 15, 2097

When is Makar Sankranti in 2097? Makar Sankranti 2097 falls on Tuesday, January 15, 2097.

Observance: Makar Sankranti (Pongal). City calendars may vary slightly by sunrise and amanta or purnimanta tradition — confirm with your local mandir.

Makar Sankranti 2097 — full list of dates

Makar Sankranti 2097 key dates and days
ObservanceDate & dayNotes
BhogiMon, 14 January 2097
Makar Sankranti / Thai PongalTue, 15 January 2097Main day
Mattu PongalWed, 16 January 2097
Kaanum PongalThu, 17 January 2097

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

  1. Boil the pongal pot at sunrise and let it overflow while calling 'Pongalo Pongal'.
  2. Bathe in a river or take a sankalpa snan at home before sunrise.
  3. Draw a kolam or rangoli at the doorway.
  4. Give til-gul, grain or cloth as daan.

Makar Sankranti dates by year

When is Makar Sankranti — 2096 to 2100
YearDate & day
2096Sun, 15 January 2096
2097Tue, 15 January 2097
2098Wed, 15 January 2098
2099Thu, 15 January 2099
2100Fri, 15 January 2100

Hindu festivals around Makar Sankranti 2097