Makar Sankranti 2027 is on Friday 15 January in India. The Sun (Surya) enters sidereal Makar on Thursday 14 January at 9:10 pm IST (9:25 pm Nepal time). That moment falls after sunset, so the punya kaal, the auspicious window for the holy dip and giving, moves to the daylight hours of the next day. Families abroad in the Americas and Europe usually keep it on 14 January, when the moment falls in their daytime.
Makar Sankranti 2027 date and timings
| What | Delhi (IST) | Mumbai (IST) | Kathmandu (Nepal time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun enters Makar | 14 Jan, 9:10 pm | 14 Jan, 9:10 pm | 14 Jan, 9:25 pm |
| Sunset on 14 Jan | 5:43 pm | 6:19 pm | 5:27 pm |
| Sunrise on 15 Jan | 7:16 am | 7:15 am | 6:57 am |
| Sunset on 15 Jan | 5:44 pm | 6:19 pm | 5:28 pm |
Other panchangs give the Sankranti moment between about 9:06 pm and 9:14 pm IST, depending on the ayanamsha they use. Every version falls after sunset on 14 January, so the date of the festival does not change.
Why the date is 15 January
A Sankranti is the moment the Sun enters a new sidereal sign. The rule in the dharma texts on festival dates is that when a Sankranti falls after sunset, its punya kaal is kept on the following day. On 14 January 2027 the Sun sets at 5:43 pm in Delhi, more than three hours before the Sun enters Makar at 9:10 pm. So the holy dip, the til sweets and the giving that mark the day belong to Friday 15 January.
Panchangs differ on the exact window inside that day. Most place the punya kaal from sunrise to sunset on 15 January, with the morning hours counted as the most auspicious.
Why some calendars list 14 January
The Sun enters Makar at one instant for the whole world. At 9:10 pm IST it is 10:40 am in New York and 3:40 pm in London on 14 January, both before local sunset. So Hindu families in the Americas and Britain usually keep Makar Sankranti on 14 January. Calendars set for those time zones list 14 January for that reason, not because they disagree about the sky.
The story and meaning
Makar is the sign of Saturn (Shani), and the old story says the Sun visits the house of his son Shani on this day, setting aside their quarrel. Makar Sankranti also marks the start of uttarayana in the traditional reckoning, the half year when the Sun is said to move north. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma waits on his bed of arrows for uttarayana before leaving his body, which is why the season is linked with merit and a good end. It is one of the few Hindu festivals fixed by the Sun rather than the Moon, so its Gregorian date barely moves from year to year.
How it is observed
The day starts with a bath, ideally in a river, and the largest gatherings are at the Ganga Sagar in Bengal and at the Sangam in Prayagraj. Sweets of til (sesame) and jaggery are shared everywhere, with the Marathi saying "til gul ghya, god god bola", take til and jaggery and speak sweetly.
| Region | Name | What marks it |
|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh, Bihar | Khichdi | Khichdi of new rice and lentils, til laddoos |
| Punjab | Maghi | Follows Lohri, which is kept the evening before |
| Gujarat, Rajasthan | Uttarayan | Kite flying from rooftops |
| Tamil Nadu | Thai Pongal | Pongal rice boiled over, first day of the month Thai |
| Assam | Magh Bihu | Feasts after the Uruka night bonfire |
| Maharashtra | Sankranti | Til gul and haldi kumkum gatherings |
| Nepal | Maghe Sankranti | Til laddoos, ghee, sweet potato and yam |
Giving food, blankets and til to people who need them is the main act of the day in most regions.
What if you miss the morning window
The whole daylight period of 15 January counts as punya kaal in most panchangs, so a bath and offering later in the day still fall inside it. What matters most in the tradition is that the observance is done in daylight on the right day, not at a single minute.
All twelve Sankrantis of 2027
The Sun enters a new sign about once a month. Each entry is a Sankranti, and Makar Sankranti is the best known of them.
| Sankranti | Date and time (IST) | Also marks |
|---|---|---|
| Makar | 14 Jan, 9:10 pm | Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu |
| Kumbh | 13 Feb, 10:09 am | |
| Meen | 15 Mar, 7:00 am | the start of Kharmas in many calendars |
| Mesh | 14 Apr, 3:28 pm | the solar new year in several regions, Baisakhi |
| Vrishabh | 15 May, 12:19 pm | |
| Mithun | 15 Jun, 6:55 pm | |
| Karkat | 17 Jul, 5:48 am | the start of dakshinayana in the traditional reckoning |
| Simha | 17 Aug, 2:13 pm | |
| Kanya | 17 Sep, 2:10 pm | the Vishwakarma festival in eastern India |
| Tula | 18 Oct, 2:08 am | |
| Vrishchik | 17 Nov, 1:58 am | |
| Dhanu | 16 Dec, 4:38 pm | the start of Kharmas until Makar Sankranti |
Uttarayana and the winter solstice
The Sun's real turn north, the winter solstice, falls around 21 or 22 December. Makar Sankranti comes about three weeks later because the Hindu calendar counts the Sun against the stars, the sidereal zodiac, while the solstice is fixed to the seasons. The gap, the ayanamsha, is about 24 degrees today and grows by one degree in about 72 years. So in the old texts, when the gap was small, Makar Sankranti and the solstice fell close together. Today they are about 24 days apart, and the gap will keep growing.