Magay Sankranti is a mid-winter festival of Hindus. The festival is celebrated to mark the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (or the beginning of Uttarayana).

The festival is celebrated by taking dips in the Ganga or any river and offering water to the Sun god. The dip is said to purify the self and bestow punya. Special puja is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest. Since the festival is celebrated in the mid winter, the food prepared for this festival are such that they keep the body warm and give high energy. Laddu of til made with sugarcane juice and Tarul (edible roots) are specialty of the festival.

Magay Sankranti falls on January 14 on non-leap years and on January 15 on leap years. It is the only Hindu festival which is based on the solar calendar rather than the lunar calendar.

The evidence of this festival being lucky is found in our great epic Mahabharata wherein it is told that the great warrior-hero, Bhishma Pitamaha even after being wounded and lying on the bed of arrows, lingered on till Uttarayan set in, to breathe his last. It is believed that the person who dies on this auspicious day of Sankrant escapes the cycle of birth and re-birth and that his soul mingles with the Almighty.