Makara Sankranti is a mid-winter Hindu festival held in Nepal and India. 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 the Uttarayana period.

The famous Kumbh Mela festival is also held on Makar Sankranti every 12 years. Every year, Hindus gather in large numbers to take a holy bath in Ganga Sagar.