10 Facts We Bet You Didn't Know About Makar Sankranti!

1. Makar Sankranti or Maghi, is a festival day in the Hindu calendar, dedicated to the deity Surya (Sun).

2. Makar Sankranti marks the first day of the sun's transit into Makara (Capricorn), marking the end of the month with the winter solstice and the start of longer days.

3. Makar Sankranti  is one of the few ancient Indian festivals that has been observed according to solar cycles, while most festivals are set by the lunar cycle.

4. Makar Sankranti falls in the Hindu calendar solar month of Makara, and the lunar month of Magha.

5. There are two different systems to calculate the Makar Sankranti date: nirayana (without adjusting for the precession of equinoxes, sidereal) and sayana (with adjustment, tropical).

6. The January 14 date is based on the Nirayana system, while the Sayana system typically computes to about December 23, per most Siddhanta texts for Hindu calendars.  As per the solar calendar, after one year, the Sun comes to the same location 20 minutes late every year, which means the Sun needs 1 day extra after every 72 years in the sky.

7. Every twelve years, the Hindus observe Makar Sankranti with one of the world's largest mass pilgrimages, with an estimated 40 to 100 million people attending the event, named Kumbh Mela.

8. Sankranti is deemed a Deity. As per the legend Sankranti killed a devil named Sankarasur. The day next to Makar Sankrant is called Karidin or Kinkrant. On this day, Devi slayed the devil Kinkarasur.

9. Makar Sankranti is the date from which Northward movement of the sun begins.

10. The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names, such as Maghi (preceded by Lohri) by north Indian Hindus and Sikhs, Makara Sankranti (Pedda Pandaga) in Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal (also called Poush sôngkrānti), Karnataka and Telangana, Sukarat in central India, Magh Bihu by Assamese, and Thai Pongal by Tamils.