{"id":116,"date":"2026-01-14T16:12:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/?p=116"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:18:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T09:48:30","slug":"kites-calendars-and-capricorn-makar-sankranti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/?p=116","title":{"rendered":"kites, calendars, and capricorn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you grew up celebrating Makar Sankranti, you likely remember it as the one Indian festival that stayed “fixed” on January 14th. Unlike Diwali or Holi, which dance around the calendar, Sankranti felt like an anchor. However, you\u2019ve probably noticed that in recent years (including this year) the celebration has increasingly shifted to January 15th<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the fascinating science behind the drift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cosmic Wobble<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The primary culprit is a phenomenon known as the Precession of the Equinoxes<\/strong>. As the earth rotates, it also slightly “wobbles” in a slow circle. Because of this wobble, the Earth\u2019s position in relation to the fixed stars shifts by about 1\u00b0 every 72 years<\/strong>. (i.e. is about one day in 71 years.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seasons vs. Stars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Gregorian calendar<\/strong> is designed to stay in sync with the seasons. The “scientific” winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) is based on the Earth’s tilt, it is fixed, and happens on December 21st.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hindu calendar (specifically the Nirayana<\/em> system<\/strong>) tracks the Sun\u2019s position relative to specific constellations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, Makar Sankranti and the Winter Solstice happened on the same day. But because of that “wobble,” the star-based date (Sankranti) has been slowly pulling away from the season-based date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • In the year 285 AD, it was on December 21st <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • By the 1800s, it moved to January 12th <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Today it\u2019s mostly the 14th\/15th January<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • and in a few hundred years, we will be flying kites in February!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Essentially, Makar Sankranti marks the Sun’s entry into the Capricorn constellation, a date that continues to drift over centuries, while “Uttarayan”\u2014the actual start of the Sun’s northward journey in the sky\u2014remains fixed in the Gregorian calendar on December 21st.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Irrespective of the date or the calendar we follow, may the Sun\u2019s transition into Capricorn bring a transition of joy into your home. As we share the sweetness of Tilgul, may we also share the warmth of new beginnings and brighter days. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Happy Makar Sankranti!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Added complications
    <\/span>\u2022 The Gregorian Calendar plays catch-up by adding leap days every 4 years this also results in moving the dates.
    \u2022 In 2026, the Sun officially enters Capricorn on January 14th at approximately 3:13 PM<\/strong> ; some calendars consider the exact moment, but others consider Udaya Tithi<\/strong> – the first sunrise in Capricorn, which is the January 15th
    \u2022 2026 twist – January 14th, 2026 is Shattila Ekadashi <\/strong>and hence some traditions choose to push the celebrations to the next day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you grew up celebrating Makar Sankranti, you likely remember it as the one Indian festival that stayed “fixed” on January 14th. Unlike Diwali or Holi, which dance around the calendar, Sankranti felt like an anchor. However, you\u2019ve probably noticed that in recent years (including this year) the celebration has increasingly shifted to January 15th. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions\/134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsama.cc\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}