Lohri and Makar Sankranti 2027: Dates, Timings and What the Sun in Capricorn Means for You
The Sun enters sidereal Capricorn on the evening of 14 January 2027, Indian time. Here is why Sankranti does not follow the solstice, what the Sun's month in Capricorn means for each rashi, and how to mark it abroad.
AstroPal Editorial
AstroPal team
In Brampton, Lohri is often a backyard bonfire at minus fifteen, with rewari and gajak from the Indian store on Airport Road, the dhol on a Bluetooth speaker, and children learning "Sunder mundriye" from a phone. It is colder than in Punjab, but it is the same festival.
The next morning, across the world, families take a dip, fly kites and eat til-gud for Makar Sankranti. Both festivals mark the same sky event: the Sun entering Makar, Capricorn, in the sidereal zodiac. In 2027, that happens on the evening of 14 January, Indian time.
Why Sankranti is not the solstice
The Sun's shortest day, the winter solstice, falls around 21 December. Makar Sankranti falls three weeks later. That gap is the ayanamsa, the 24-degree difference between the seasonal (tropical) zodiac and the star-based (sidereal) zodiac. Sankranti follows the stars. That is why it lands on 14 or 15 January every year and slowly drifts later over the centuries.
Why the date may be the 15th
A Sankranti that falls after sunset is traditionally observed the next day. In 2027 the Sun crosses into Capricorn at about 15:41 UTC on 14 January, which is around 9:11 pm in India, after sunset. So many Indian panchangs list Makar Sankranti on 15 January 2027, with Lohri on the evening before, in most calendars 14 January. In London the crossing happens at about 3:41 pm, just before sunset; in Toronto, around 10:41 am; in Sydney, around 2:41 am on the 15th. Your gurdwara or mandir will set the local date.
Uttarayana: the auspicious half of the year
With the Sun in Capricorn, the tradition marks the start of Uttarayana, the Sun's northward course, considered the more auspicious half of the year for beginnings. It also ends Kharmas, the month of the Sun in Sagittarius (from 16 December 2026), when many families avoid weddings and housewarmings. From Sankranti onward, the wedding season reopens.
The Sun in Capricorn for each Moon sign
The Sun is a planet of authority, health and the father. Classically it gives its best results from the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th houses counted from the Moon.
The February 2027 eclipse
This Sankranti is followed closely by the annular solar eclipse of 6 February 2027, with the Sun in Capricorn alongside Rahu, which entered Capricorn on 5 December. This makes the Sun's month in Capricorn more important than usual, especially for career and reputation, and especially for people with the Moon or lagna in Capricorn or Cancer. Mercury, meanwhile, turns retrograde on 9 February, so the second half of the Sun's month is better for review than for new contracts.
Examples: two families
Picture Gurdeep and Parminder Randhawa, in Surrey, BC, celebrating their granddaughter's first Lohri. In Punjabi tradition a child's first Lohri, like a new bride's, is a big occasion. The start of Uttarayana is traditionally seen as a good time for new beginnings, which suits a first Lohri.
In Leicester, Manish and Sneha Joshi mark Makar Sankranti with til-gud and a morning visit to the mandir on Belgrave Road. Manish's Moon is in Aries, so the Sun in Capricorn is in his 10th house, the house of career. He has a promotion review coming up. The four weeks after Sankranti are a good time for him to ask for it.
Lohri, Maghi and the farming year
Lohri began as a Punjabi winter harvest festival, a thanksgiving for the rabi crops of sugarcane and wheat that would be cut in spring. Its songs remember Dulla Bhatti, the folk hero who protected the girls of his village, and its bonfire is fed with sesame, peanuts, popcorn and rewari. The next day, Maghi, Sikh families gather at the gurdwara, and many remember the Chali Mukte, the forty liberated ones of Muktsar.
For families abroad, Lohri is also a winter reunion. Cousins drive in from Hamilton and Kitchener, students come home from university in Coventry, and three generations spend the evening together. Astrology can tell you which month suits a new start, but the reunion matters more than the timing.
The classical practice
On Sankranti morning, many families offer water to the rising Sun, Surya arghya, and chant Om Suryaya Namah, "salutations to the Sun". Daan of til (sesame) and gur (jaggery) is traditional, because sesame is associated with Saturn, the lord of Capricorn, and jaggery with the Sun. Around a Lohri bonfire, keep children well back and have water nearby. In a Canadian or British winter, check local rules for backyard fires.
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Names in this article are illustrative.
