Black Saree for Makar Sankranti: Your Sankranti and Pongal Saree Guide
In Maharashtra, black is the traditional saree colour for Makar Sankranti in many families: it is the one festival of the year when black is chosen on purpose, and a new bride wears it with white halwa jewellery made of sugar-coated sesame. A red, mustard or gold blouse gives it a festive contrast. Elsewhere there is no single colour: many Tamil families choose yellow, green, red or off-white for Pongal, Karnataka simply asks for new clothes, Gujarat dresses for a long day on the roof at Uttarayan, Punjab for a bonfire night at Lohri, and Assam brings out the mekhela chador for Magh Bihu. This guide covers the 2027 dates, why black is worn, choosing a black saree and blouse, halwa jewellery and a bride’s first Sankranti, a month of haldi-kunku visits, Pongal day by day, Karnataka, Uttarayan, Lohri and Bihu, winter layering, and the questions people ask.
Sankranti 2027 Dates, Festival by Festival
Makar Sankranti marks the Sun’s move into Makara, or Capricorn. In 2027 that happens on the night of Thursday 14 January, at about 9:14 pm IST by Mumbai reckoning. Because it falls after sunset, many panchangs keep the festival and its auspicious window on Friday 15 January, while the central government’s 2027 restricted holiday list gives Thursday 14 January. So the honest answer is 14 or 15 January 2027, depending on your local calendar. Check your family panchang or local temple.
Each festival has its own setting, and the setting, more than the date, decides what to wear.
Why Black on Makar Sankranti
Black is avoided at most Hindu festivals, which is exactly why the Sankranti custom surprises people. In Maharashtra, many women wear black saris on Sankrant, newly married couples often dress in black for their first one, and small children are dressed in black for their own celebration. The custom is widely observed in Maharashtra and far less common in the rest of India.
None of these explanations has a clear documented source; they are handed down in families. Treat the warmth explanation as folk wisdom, not science: for most families the real reason is simply that it is what their mothers and grandmothers wore. If your family avoids black for puja, or you are visiting a home or temple outside Maharashtra, ask your host or choose another colour. Our pooja saree guide covers colours for home puja.
Choosing a Black Saree and Blouse
Think about where you will be: daylight visits on Sankrant, indoor haldi-kunku evenings, or a long office day. A plain black saree is the most useful of all because it takes every blouse and every piece of jewellery, including halwa beads. After Dark is plain black mul cotton at ₹1,699: light, breathable and hand washable, so you can wear it for Sankrant and several haldi-kunku visits after.
MAYIN sarees are 5.5 metres long and 45 inches wide, and none come with a fall or pico, so ask your tailor if you want them. For more black sarees, browse black sarees and black cotton sarees.
Blouse colours for a black Sankranti saree
A bright contrast blouse lifts a black saree. Red and mustard are popular choices, gold suits an evening, and a black blouse gives a long, tonal line that lets halwa jewellery or a statement necklace lead.
More pairings, from emerald to rani pink, in our guide to a blouse for a black saree.
Halwa Jewellery and a Bride’s First Sankranti
Halwa dagine, or halwa jewellery, is the white jewellery of Sankrant. Sesame seeds (sometimes sago or pumpkin seeds) are coated in sugar syrup, layer by layer over several days, until they build up into small white beads. Because the beads have no hole, they are knotted onto thread to make each piece. The tradition is passed down in families more than it is written down, and every household makes it a little differently.
Styling a black saree for halwa jewellery
For the groom, a plain black kurta with a white halwa garland. Keep both outfits plain and let the beads be the pattern; if the bride wants one bright note, a red or maroon blouse adds colour without stealing focus.
Bornahan: mother and child in black
In many Maharashtrian families, children aged about one to five have a Bornahan during the Sankranti season. The child is dressed in black, often in tiny halwa jewellery, and showered with ber, groundnuts and small pieces of sugarcane while family and friends look on. It is a lovely moment to coordinate: the mother in black, the child in black with white beads, and one shared accent colour.
Haldi-Kunku: One Black Saree, Three Ways
After Sankrant, married women in Maharashtra host each other for haldi-kunku. Guests are welcomed with haldi and kunku on the forehead, given tilgul with the greeting “Tilgul ghya, god god bola” (take tilgul and speak sweetly), and sent home with a small gift called vaan, such as a steel bowl, a plant or a sugad pot. The season runs for weeks: about a month in many homes, and until Ratha Saptami in others. Housing societies often hold a larger evening gathering too.
That means many invitations, mostly evening and indoors. One plain, hand-washable black saree, restyled, covers the whole season.
If you are hosting and want a step up, Saanjh has fine zari stripes that catch the lamplight, and Noxana, a black floral print pure chiffon, suits the larger society evening. Both are dry clean only, so save them for the bigger nights and keep the plain mul cotton for the round of visits.
Pongal: Four Days, Four Looks
Pongal is Tamil Nadu’s harvest festival, celebrated over four days. New clothes are the custom on Thai Pongal, when rice is boiled until it overflows in a pot tied with a turmeric plant and sugarcane, with a kolam drawn at the doorway and an offering to the Sun. There is no official Pongal colour: yellow and turmeric, mustard, green, red and off-white with a border are popular choices.
For the main day, a saree with a gold border photographs beautifully beside the kolam and the Pongal pot. Miss Earth is a yellow handloom cotton tissue with embroidery and zari at ₹3,499, with a soft gold sheen; Naples is a yellow floral Dhakai jamdani at ₹4,999; and Manjari is red mul cotton with zari stripes at ₹2,299. Checks and stripes, such as Harvest Sun, echo the checked cottons that South Indian weavers are known for. Girls often wear a half saree (pavadai dhavani) for Pongal; the same palette works for that too.
Karnataka: Ellu Bella Visits
In Karnataka, Sankranti means ellu bella: a mix of sesame, jaggery, coconut and groundnuts, shared with sugar candy and pieces of sugarcane. Women and children go from house to house in new clothes, exchanging ellu bella with the words “Ellu bella thindu olle mathaadi” (eat sesame and jaggery, and speak well). Rangoli is drawn at doorways, and in villages cattle are decorated and made to leap over a fire. There is no prescribed colour, only the expectation that you look festive and fresh.
Carry your ellu bella in a basket, not against the saree, since jaggery and coconut leave oily marks, and wear flats for a day of steps and doorways.
Uttarayan: Dressing for the Roof
In Gujarat, Uttarayan is spent on rooftops from morning until well after dark: flying kites, cutting rival strings with glass-coated manja, lighting tukkal lanterns on kites at night, and passing round undhiyu, chikki and laddoos. Vasi Uttarayan carries on the next day. Ahmedabad’s International Kite Festival usually runs for several days around it; check Gujarat Tourism for the year’s dates.
You will be looking up, reaching, running for a falling kite and sitting on parapets, often in strong sun, so dress for movement first. A bright cotton print hides roof dust and creases. Tokyo in multicolour stripes, Poppy Seed in red gingham and Crimson Charm in red polka dots are all mul cotton that you can hand wash after the day.
Lohri and Magh Bihu
Lohri: a bonfire night in Punjab
Lohri usually falls on 13 January, the night before Maghi; in 2027 that is Wednesday 13 January. Families gather around a bonfire after dark, offer til, gur, rewri and sugarcane to the flames, share peanuts, gajak and popcorn, and circle the fire singing Dulla Bhatti songs. A bride’s or a newborn’s first Lohri is a bigger celebration, with blessings from the whole family. Many women wear a suit, often with a phulkari dupatta, and sarees are less common, though you will see them at city and society Lohri parties.
Choose warm reds, maroons, oranges and mustards with a shawl. In a North Indian January, mul modal in a deeper colour, layered, is more comfortable than anything sheer: True Garnet is plain maroon mul modal at ₹1,899 with a 1 m running blouse piece, so you can have a blouse made in the same colour. Main Event, burgundy handloom linen with a zari border at ₹4,299, is crisp and festive for a family Lohri, and Vintage Orange, a hand embroidered floral chiffon at ₹3,499, suits the dinner or indoor party after the bonfire.
Magh Bihu: the mekhela chador comes first
Magh Bihu is Assam’s harvest festival. On Uruka, the eve, communities feast in temporary bhelaghar huts, and at dawn the meji, a tall bamboo structure, is set alight. Pitha, laru and doi-chira are shared through the day. Women wear the mekhela chador, a two-piece garment: the mekhela is wrapped and pleated at the waist like a skirt, and the chador is draped over it. It is not a saree, and Sualkuchi is its best-known weaving centre. Red with cream is the signature Bihu palette, and a long-sleeved red blouse is traditional.
Winter Layering and Care
Mid-January mornings and nights are cool in Pune, Ahmedabad and Punjab, while afternoons can be warm in Gujarat and the South. Dress for the coldest part of your day and take off a layer later.
More ideas in our winter saree looks and saree petticoat guide.
After the festival
On plain mul cotton and mul modal, rinse sesame, jaggery or sugar marks from the back in cold water, dab oily marks with a little mild liquid detergent, then hand wash gently and dry black sarees inside out in the shade. Zari, chiffon, linen, tissue and jamdani are dry clean only: tell the dry cleaner what the mark is. A bonfire smell fades if you air the saree overnight. Full instructions in how to wash and store sarees.
Sankranti Sarees in This Guide
After DarkPlain black mul cottonPair with Red, mustard, gold
SaanjhBlack mul cotton, zari stripesPair with Gold, maroon, rani pink
Spot OnCharcoal polka dot mul cottonPair with White, red, mustard
NoxanaBlack floral print pure chiffonPair with Black, gold, red
CrosswalkBlack striped handloom linenPair with Black, white, red
True GarnetPlain maroon mul modalPair with Maroon, gold, bottle green
Main EventBurgundy linen, zari borderPair with Gold, bottle green, mustard
ManjariRed mul cotton, zari stripesPair with Gold, bottle green, red
Golden HourMustard linen, zari borderPair with Maroon, gold, bottle green
Harvest SunMustard gingham mul cottonPair with White, maroon, bottle green
Miss EarthYellow tissue, embroidery and zariPair with Gold, maroon, green
EmeraldGreen mul cotton, zari stripesPair with Gold, mustard, maroon
The Go toIvory linen, zari borderPair with Red, gold, maroon
TokyoMulticolour striped mul cottonPair with White, black, red
Shop our Makar Sankranti sarees, or browse all black sarees for Sankrant, yellow sarees and red sarees for Pongal and Lohri, zari sarees for a festive border, and festive wear sarees for everything else. Shipping is free within India, and we ship internationally. For the next festival on the calendar, read our Republic Day saree guide and Saraswati Puja saree guide.
Questions People Ask
Why do people wear black on Makar Sankranti?
It is a Maharashtrian tradition, especially for newlyweds and young children. The usual reasons given, that black soaks up the winter sun or stands for strength, are folk explanations rather than documented ones.
Which fabric is best for a black Sankranti saree?
Mul cotton for daytime visits and repeat wear, since it is light and hand washable; pure chiffon or zari-striped mul cotton for an evening haldi-kunku; handloom linen for a crisp office look.
Which colour should I wear on Makar Sankranti?
In Maharashtra, black is the custom in many families; a red, mustard or gold blouse is a popular contrast. Elsewhere there is no fixed colour: yellow, green, red and off-white are popular for Pongal, and new clothes in any festive colour suit Karnataka.
What colour should I wear on Pongal?
There is no official colour. Yellow or turmeric, mustard, green, red, maroon and off-white with a gold border are the usual choices, worn new on Thai Pongal.
Is Pongal the same as Makar Sankranti?
They mark the same moment, the Sun entering Capricorn, but Pongal is Tamil Nadu’s four-day harvest festival with its own rituals. Thai Pongal falls on Friday 15 January 2027.
What is halwa jewellery and who wears it?
Jewellery made of sesame seeds coated in layers of sugar syrup and knotted on thread. New brides wear it for their first Sankrant, and young children for Bornahan; grooms wear a halwa garland.
What does a new bride wear on her first Sankranti?
In Maharashtra, a black saree with white halwa jewellery: mangalsutra, necklace, earrings, nath, bajuband and more. A plain black saree with a dark blouse shows the beads best.
Is Makar Sankranti 2027 on the 14th or the 15th?
Either, depending on your calendar. The Sun enters Capricorn on the night of 14 January, so many panchangs observe the festival on 15 January, while the central government’s restricted holiday list gives 14 January.
When is Lohri 2027?
Lohri usually falls on 13 January, the night before Maghi; in 2027 that is Wednesday 13 January.
What should I wear for kite flying on Uttarayan?
A bright cotton print with the pleats and pallu pinned, flat shoes with grip, sunglasses, a cap and very little jewellery. Protect your fingers from the glass-coated string.
What is worn on Magh Bihu?
Women wear the mekhela chador, a two-piece garment, usually cream with red, and a long-sleeved red blouse. A cream saree with a red blouse is a respectful choice if you are a guest without one.
