Makar Sankranti is a thank-you to the sun and to the harvest. It marks the day the sun enters the zodiac sign Makara (Capricorn), and it arrives in mid-January, when the winter crop is cut. Across India it has many names: Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Lohri in Punjab, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Bihu in Assam, Sankranti in Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. Families eat sesame and jaggery, boil new rice until it overflows, honour the cattle that helped plough, and fly kites. The message for a child: we say thank you to the sun, the soil and the animals that help us eat.
Dates as per Drik Panchang, New Delhi. Your local panchang may differ by a day.
In this article
Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti?
Most Indian festivals follow the moon. Sankranti follows the sun. "Sankranti" means the sun moving from one zodiac sign into the next, and Makar Sankranti is the day it enters Makara. That is why its date barely moves: it falls on 14 or 15 January almost every year, while Diwali and Holi jump around.
It comes at harvest time. In the South the rice is in; sugarcane is ready; in the North the wheat is growing. So the festival is a thank-you: to the sun, whose light grows the crop, to the earth, and to the animals that helped.
Many families call this the start of Uttarayana, the sun's northward journey. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows, waited for Uttarayana before leaving his body.
Mahabharata (Bhishma and Anushasana Parvas).From my home
Sankranti for me is ellu-bella and the cows. In our village, the cattle are decorated and made to cross the fire, and the sky is full of kites. My granny had her own ritual of taking the ox round and round. The new crop comes home, and we do the puja. That is what I remember.
Manjunath
The sky behind Sankranti, explained like an engineer
Engineer's note
Here is something most of us were never told. The sun's real turnaround, the shortest day of the year, is the winter solstice, around 21 or 22 December. Sankranti is measured against the fixed stars, and because the Earth's axis wobbles very slowly, the two dates drift apart by about one day every 72 years. Around 1,700 years ago they fell on the same day. Today they are about 24 days apart. So our ancestors tied the festival to the sun's turn as they saw it, and the calendar has kept that day.
Do together
Mark where the sun sets from your balcony on 22 December, then again on Sankranti. Has it moved? Your child just did real astronomy.
One festival, many names
Pongal runs four days: Bhogi (old things burned), Thai Pongal (new rice boiled in milk until it overflows, and everyone shouts "Pongalo Pongal!"), Mattu Pongal (cattle washed, decorated and thanked), and Kaanum Pongal (visiting family).
Sankranti with ellu-bella: sesame, jaggery, coconut and peanuts mixed and shared with friends, with the line "ellu bella thindu olle maathaadi" (eat sesame-jaggery, speak sweet words). Cattle are decorated and sometimes led over a small fire.
Tilgul: sesame-jaggery sweets shared with "tilgul ghya, goad goad bola", take tilgul and speak sweetly.
Lohri, the night before: a bonfire, folk songs, and popcorn, peanuts and rewri thrown into the fire.
Uttarayan: the whole state flies kites from the rooftops from morning to night.
Magh Bihu: a harvest feast and community bonfires.
What we do, and what it means
🍬Sesame and jaggery
Tradition Sesame and jaggery are shared with everyone, with words like "speak sweetly". The sweet is a promise to be kind in the new season.
Do together: she hands tilgul or ellu-bella to each neighbour and says the line herself.🍚Pongal: rice that overflows
Tradition New rice is boiled with milk and jaggery until it bubbles over the pot. The overflow means plenty: may our home overflow with good things.
Do together: let her watch from a safe distance and shout "Pongalo Pongal!" when it bubbles over.🐄Thanking the cattle
Tradition On Mattu Pongal and Sankranti, cows and bulls are bathed, their horns painted and garlanded. They ploughed the fields; the harvest is theirs too.
Say: "The cows helped grow our food. Today we say thank you to them."🔥Bonfires
Tradition Lohri and Bhogi bonfires burn away the old and welcome the new season.
Safety: small children watch from an adult's arms, well back from the fire.🪁Kites
Tradition In Gujarat and many cities, families fly kites all day.
Safety: sharp glass-coated thread (manja) can cut fingers and hurt birds; use plain cotton thread, and keep small children off open terraces.🌸Rangoli and kolam
Tradition Big kolams and rangolis are drawn at the door, often with a pot of Pongal in the design.
Do together: draw a sun in the rangoli together.Why do festivals like Sankranti matter to children? A review of 50 years of research linked family rituals with children who cope better and families who feel closer. The researchers point to the meaning rituals carry: "this is who we are".
Fiese et al., Journal of Family Psychology, 2002.Read it aloud tonight: The Day We Thank the Sun
A bedtime version of the story, about four minutes to read. Read it slowly, pause at the questions, and let her answer.
Long, long ago, in a village full of green fields, there lived a little girl. Every morning, she ran outside to see the sun come up. "Good morning, Surya!" she would shout, and the sun would warm her cheeks.
All winter, the farmers worked in the fields. They planted the rice. The rain came and watered it. The cows pulled the ploughs. And every single day, the sun shone down, and the little green plants grew taller and taller.
Can you show me how tall the plants grew? Stretch your arms up!
Then one cold January morning, the rice was ready. The whole village came out to cut it. Baskets and baskets of rice! Sugarcane taller than Papa! Sesame seeds, tiny like sand.
"How do we say thank you?" asked the little girl.
Her grandmother smiled. "We say thank you to everyone who helped." So they put the new rice in a pot with milk and jaggery, and they cooked it in the sunshine. The pot bubbled and bubbled until it overflowed! "Pongalo Pongal!" everyone shouted. "It is overflowing, so there is enough for everyone."
Then they washed the cows, painted their horns in bright colours, and put flowers around their necks. "Thank you, cows, for helping us plough."
Who else should we thank? The sun? The rain? The farmer?
Last of all, the grandmother put a little sesame and jaggery into the girl's hand. "Eat this sweet," she said, "and speak only sweet words to everyone today."
The girl went from house to house, giving sesame and jaggery to every neighbour. And at the end of the day, when the sun went down, she whispered, "Thank you, Surya. See you tomorrow."
A harvest story in the spirit of Sankranti and Pongal (tradition; not a single scripture story).
After the story
Ask her: "Who helped bring our food today?" Count the helpers on her fingers: the farmer, the cow, the sun, the rain, the person who cooked.
How to explain Sankranti to your child
"The sun helps the plants grow. The plants give us rice and sugarcane. Today we say thank you to the sun! And we eat something sweet and say sweet words."
"Today the sun moves into a new part of the sky, and the farmers have cut their crop. So we say thank you to the sun, the soil, and the cows that helped plough. We share sesame and jaggery and promise to speak kindly. And look how the rice bubbles over: that means we have more than enough, so we share it."
The value she takes away
We say thank you to the sun, the soil and the animals that help us eat. Ask her: "Who helped bring our food today?" Count the helpers together: the farmer, the cow, the sun, the rain, Mumma or Papa who cooked.
Play this with your child
What do we share on Sankranti?
Sesame and jaggery! And we promise to speak sweet words.
Why does the Pongal rice overflow?
It means plenty! When we have more than enough, we share.
Whom do we thank on Mattu Pongal?
The cows, because they helped plough the fields.
Read next in this series
- Why do we celebrate Diwali? Read
- Why do we celebrate Navratri? Read
- 10 Indian values and the story behind each Read
Questions parents ask
Why do we celebrate Makar Sankranti?
It is a thank-you to the sun and the harvest. It marks the sun entering the zodiac sign Makara (Capricorn) in mid-January, when the winter crop is harvested. Families share sesame and jaggery, cook new rice, honour cattle and fly kites.
Why is Makar Sankranti always on 14 or 15 January?
Because it follows the sun, not the moon. Most Indian festivals follow the lunar calendar and move every year; Sankranti is fixed to the sun's entry into Makara, so it stays on 14 or 15 January.
Is Makar Sankranti the winter solstice?
No, not any more. The solstice is around 21 or 22 December. The two fell on the same day about 1,700 years ago; because of a slow wobble in the Earth's axis, they are now about 24 days apart.
Why do we eat til and gud on Sankranti?
Sesame (til) and jaggery (gud) are shared with everyone with the words "eat sweet, speak sweet": a promise to be kind in the new season. They are also winter harvest foods.
What is the difference between Pongal, Lohri and Sankranti?
They are the same harvest season under different names: Pongal in Tamil Nadu (four days), Lohri in Punjab (the bonfire night before), Uttarayan in Gujarat (kites), Magh Bihu in Assam, and Sankranti in Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana and Maharashtra.
When is Makar Sankranti in 2027?
Friday, 15 January 2027, with Lohri on Thursday, 14 January (Drik Panchang, New Delhi).
Is kite flying safe for small children?
Keep small children off open terraces, and use plain cotton thread: glass-coated manja can cut fingers and hurt birds.
If we want thoughtful adults tomorrow, we must be equally thoughtful about childhood today.
Manjunath · father, ex-VinFast lead design engineer, founder of VedaPlay
Follow the build, and the stories we test at home, on Instagram: @manjunath.build
Sources
- Mahabharata, Bhishma and Anushasana Parvas (Bhishma awaits Uttarayana).
- Khagol Mandal, "Astronomy of Makar Sankranti" (precession and the solstice).
- Painting: Surya Narayana, Ravi Varma Press. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
- Drik Panchang, festival calendars 2026 and 2027 (New Delhi).
- Fiese BH et al. (2002). A review of 50 years of research on naturally occurring family routines and rituals. Journal of Family Psychology 16(4):381-390.
