Festival calendar
Festival
Makar Sankranti in the Netherlands
Also called Pongal, Lohri, Uttarayan, मकर संक्रांति.
Makar Sankranti marks the sun entering Capricorn, and because it follows the solar calendar it barely moves — 14 or 15 January, every year. The same date is Lohri in Punjab the evening before, Pongal in Tamil Nadu over four days, Uttarayan in Gujarat, and Magh Bihu in Assam.
In the Netherlands it lands in the coldest, darkest fortnight of the year, which is either the worst timing or exactly the point. The bonfire is the part that does not travel — open fires need permission almost everywhere here.
What we arrange
- Til gud, chikki and gajak, ordered rather than improvised
- Pongal cooked in a clay pot, with sugarcane and turmeric
- Rangoli and a small puja at home
- A hall for a Lohri evening, since the garden bonfire is out
- Kite flying somewhere with wind and no trees — the Dutch coast obliges
Sourcing takes about 14 days for this one, so tell us by .
Dates
- Makar Sankranti 2026 — Wednesday, 14 January 2026
- Makar Sankranti 2027 — Thursday, 14 January 2027
- Makar Sankranti 2028 — Saturday, 15 January 2028 (expected)
What this usually becomes
Also coming up
- Navratri 202611 October 2026 to 19 October 2026 — Nine nights, then Dussehra. The one festival where the Netherlands has real crowds to join.
- Dussehra 2026Tuesday, 20 October 2026 — The tenth day. Ravana burns, and it is the day people start new things.
- Karva Chauth 2026Thursday, 29 October 2026 — A day-long fast that ends when the moon is sighted — which in November here is not guaranteed.
- Places we can arrange thisWhere a puja, a dinner or a photoshoot actually works, with the practical detail that decides it.
Planning Makar Sankranti?
Tell us how many people and where. We'll tell you what's possible on the date, and what it costs.
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