Photo: Janak Bhatta, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maghe Sankranti falls on Magh 1, which is January 14 or 15 in most years. It marks the day the Sun enters the sign of Makar (Capricorn). People take an early-morning bath in a river, give to charity, and eat warming winter foods: til ko laddu, chaku, ghee, sweet potato and tarul. The Tharu community celebrates the same day as Maghi, its biggest festival of the year.
Most Nepali festivals move to a different Gregorian date every year. Maghe Sankranti stays within a day of mid-January. By Magh 1 the days have already been getting longer for about three weeks, since the winter solstice, and the coldest part of winter starts to ease.
Below: why the date is fixed, what each festival food is, where the big bathing fairs happen, and how the Tharu celebrate Maghi.
What does Maghe Sankranti mark?
Maghe Sankranti marks the Sun entering the zodiac sign Makar (Capricorn). Across South Asia the same day is called Makar Sankranti. A sankranti is the Sun's move from one zodiac sign into the next. By tradition, this sankranti is the start of Uttarayan, the half of the year when the Sun moves north, and the end of the coldest weeks.
In the Hindu calendar, the Sun's path is divided into twelve solar signs, and each move into a new sign is a sankranti. That gives twelve sankrantis a year, one at the start of each Nepali month. Makar Sankranti is the most widely celebrated of them. Long ago it fell on the winter solstice. The sidereal zodiac slowly shifts against the seasons, so today it falls about three weeks after the solstice of December 21 or 22.
Religiously, the day is considered very auspicious for giving charity, ritual bathing and remembering ancestors. Good deeds done on this day are believed to bring extra merit. For where Magh sits in the year, see the twelve Nepali calendar months in order.
Why does Maghe Sankranti fall on a fixed date?
Maghe Sankranti falls on Magh 1, around January 14 or 15 every year, because it is a solar festival. Most Nepali festivals follow the lunar tithi, and the tithi lands on a different Gregorian date each year. Maghe Sankranti is set by the Sun's position instead.
This makes it one of the few Nepali festivals with an almost fixed Gregorian date. Dashain and Tihar are set by the phase of the Moon, so they move around September, October and November from year to year. Maghe Sankranti depends on the Sun entering Makar, so it stays near the same date in January. To see the exact date and how many days are left, check the festival list or the countdown page.
Solar festivals and lunar festivals
The difference is which body sets the date. Lunar festivals follow the Moon's cycle and the tithi. Solar festivals follow the Sun's entry into a zodiac sign. The months of the Bikram Sambat calendar are solar, while most of its festivals follow lunar tithis; that guide explains how the two work together.
What foods are eaten on Maghe Sankranti?
Maghe Sankranti foods are filling winter foods made with sesame, jaggery and ghee. Traditionally these are believed to give the body strength and warmth in the cold. Eating them on this day is a ritual custom and also sensible food for the season.
Many of these foods are made a day or more in advance so they can be shared with neighbours and visiting relatives. The most common ones are:
| Food | What it is | Why it is eaten |
|---|---|---|
| Til ko laddu | Sesame seed balls bound with jaggery | Sesame and jaggery are warming and symbolise togetherness |
| Chaku | Hardened sweet made by boiling down sugarcane juice or jaggery | A dense energy food for the cold season |
| Ghee | Clarified butter, often eaten with chaku | Believed to lubricate joints and warm the body |
| Sweet potato (sakharkhanda) | Boiled or roasted tubers | Seasonal, filling and naturally sweet |
| Tarul | Yam, boiled and seasoned | A traditional winter root vegetable |
Many households also cook khichadi, a dish of rice and lentils, and use freshly pressed mustard oil. Til, chaku and ghee are so closely tied to the day that it is also called Ghiu Chaku Khane Din, the day for eating ghee and chaku. If you are shopping, buy sesame, jaggery or ready-made chaku, ghee, sweet potato and tarul a few days before Magh 1, because markets get busy just before the festival.
Regional names and ways of celebrating Maghe Sankranti
Communities across Nepal celebrate the day under different names and with different customs. The best known is Maghi, the biggest annual festival of the Tharu people. Hindus in the hills mark the day with a ritual bath and sweets. The Tharu of the Tarai celebrate it as their new year.
For the Tharu community, Maghi means feasts, folk dances and family members coming home. It also used to mark the start of a new working year, when agreements over labour and land were renewed. Maghi is central to Tharu identity and is celebrated widely across the western Tarai.
Holy bathing and the Maghe mela
The main religious act of the day is bathing in a river or at a sacred confluence. Devotees take a dip early in the morning, in the belief that the cold water washes away sins and brings merit. Large fairs called Maghe mela take place at riverside pilgrimage sites.
Well-known bathing sites include Devghat near Chitwan, where the Kali Gandaki and Trishuli rivers meet, Sankhamul ghat on the Bagmati in the Kathmandu Valley, and Barahakshetra on the Koshi in eastern Nepal. After bathing, people visit temples, give charity and share the festival foods. The mela has stalls and food as well as worship, and many families spend the day there.
Where Maghe Sankranti falls in the festival year
Maghe Sankranti is the main festival of winter and comes about two to three months after Dashain and Tihar. For the two biggest festivals before it, read the guides to the Dashain festival and Tihar, the five-day festival of lights. To get a reminder before Magh 1, set one in the Nepali Calendar app.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Maghe Sankranti the same as Makar Sankranti?
Yes. Both names refer to the same solar event: the Sun entering Makar (Capricorn). "Maghe Sankranti" is the Nepali name because it falls on Magh 1. "Makar Sankranti" is the name used across South Asia and refers to the sign the Sun moves into.
Why does Maghe Sankranti not change date like Dashain?
Because it is a solar festival. Its date is set by the Sun entering Capricorn, which happens around January 14 or 15 each year. Dashain and Tihar follow the lunar tithi, so their Gregorian dates move by several weeks from one year to the next.
What is Maghi and who celebrates it?
Maghi is what the Tharu community of Nepal's Tarai calls Maghe Sankranti. It is their most important festival, with feasts, traditional dances and family gatherings. In the past it was also when the working and farming year was renewed. It is a celebration of Tharu culture and identity.
Why do people bathe in rivers on this day?
Bathing at a sacred river confluence on Maghe Sankranti is believed to wash away sins and bring spiritual merit. Devotees gather before dawn at places like Devghat and Sankhamul, where large fairs called Maghe mela are held. Most people also give charity and visit a temple after bathing.