Pongal and Makar Sankranti Wishes and Messages

Quick answer: Below are original English wishes for Makar Sankranti, the four days of Pongal, Lohri, Magh Bihu and Uttarayan, grouped for WhatsApp, family, colleagues and clients, friends abroad, children and Instagram. Each festival has a one-line note on what the day is, so your message fits the occasion. Copy them freely or adapt them.

When are the days in 2027?

In the USA, Canada and the UK the panchang gives Makar Sankranti and Thai Pongal on Thursday 14 January 2027. Gujarat's 2027 holiday list, which fixes the Uttarayan date there, is still awaited. Full timings are in our Makar Sankranti 2027 guide. Confirm with your local panchang or temple priest.

Short wishes for WhatsApp

• Happy Sankranti! Sweet til, clear skies, full kitchens.
• Wishing you a warm, unhurried Sankranti with the people you love.
• New rice, new jaggery, new start. Happy Pongal!
• Happy Lohri! Stay close to the fire and closer to family.
• Happy Magh Bihu! Save me some pitha.
• Strings ready, rooftop booked. Happy Uttarayan!

Wishes by festival

Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti marks the Sun's entry into the sidereal sign Makara, kept across India with sesame sweets, holy dips, charity and kites (Makar Sankranti 2027).

• May the new season bring you steady work, good health and many reasons to share sweets.
• Here is a little sesame, a little jaggery and a lot of goodwill. Happy Makar Sankranti.

Pongal (all four days)

Pongal is the Tamil harvest festival, kept over four days from Bhogi to Kaanum Pongal (Pongal guide).

• Bhogi is the first day, for clearing out the old and cleaning the house (Bhogi). "Out with the clutter, in with the new season. Happy Bhogi!" (A safety note if you share a fire photo: no plastic, tyres or rubber in a Bhogi fire.)
• Thai Pongal is the main day, when new rice is boiled with milk and jaggery until the pot overflows and families call out "Pongalo Pongal!" (Thai Pongal). "Pongalo Pongal! May your table be full and your home loud with laughter."
• Mattu Pongal honours the cattle that work the fields (Mattu Pongal). "Happy Mattu Pongal. A thank-you today to every farmer and every animal behind the food on our plates."
• Kaanum Pongal is for visiting relatives and going out together (Kaanum Pongal). "Happy Kaanum Pongal! Today is for elders' blessings, long lunches and a walk with the whole family."

Lohri

Lohri is the Punjabi bonfire festival on the eve of Makar Sankranti, with rewri, gajak, peanuts and Dulla Bhatti songs (Lohri and Maghi).

• Happy Lohri! May the fire be warm, the songs be loud and the rewri never run out.
• Warm wishes on your first Lohri together. May there be many more.

Magh Bihu

Magh Bihu, also called Bhogali Bihu, is Assam's harvest festival: a feast on Uruka night and a dawn bonfire called the Meji (Magh Bihu in Assam).

• Happy Magh Bihu! Wishing you a long Uruka night, good company and a granary that stays full.

Uttarayan

Uttarayan is Gujarat's name for Makar Sankranti, a day spent on rooftops flying kites (Uttarayan in Gujarat).

• Happy Uttarayan! May your kite climb high and your string stay strong.
• Wishing you a sunny terrace, a steady wind and undhiyu waiting downstairs.

Wishes for family

• To my parents: thank you for every Sankranti you made special. Wishing you good health and a sweet festival.
• To my siblings: same kitchen, same chaos, same love. Happy Pongal.
• To grandparents: your recipes and stories are the real festival. Happy Sankranti, with love.

Wishes for colleagues and clients

These are secular-friendly, suited to people of any faith or none.

• Wishing you and your family a happy harvest festival and a strong start to the year.
• Season's greetings on Makar Sankranti and Pongal. Thank you for a good year of working together.
• Warm wishes for the harvest season. We look forward to the year ahead with you.

Wishes for friends abroad

• Different time zone, same sweet til. Happy Sankranti from home.
• Even if your Pongal is cooked on an electric stove, it still counts. Happy Pongal!
• Thinking of you on Lohri. Light a candle if you can't light a fire, and call us after.

For festival days and city times abroad, see Makar Sankranti and Pongal abroad.

Wishes for children

• Happy Sankranti! Fly your kite safely and share your sweets.
• Happy Pongal! Watch the pot and shout loud when it bubbles over.
• Happy Lohri, little one! Stay with a grown-up near the fire.
• Happy Bihu! You get the first pitha today.

Instagram captions

• Til, gud and good company.
• Pot boiled over. Mission accomplished. Pongalo Pongal!
• Bonfire, rewri and the whole family in one frame. Happy Lohri.
• Kolam done, rice on, heart full.
• Uruka feast loading.

Regional greetings you will hear

We give only greetings whose wording and meaning we found in a reputable source.

• "Pongalo Pongal!" is the call raised as the pongal pot boils over on Thai Pongal. Hinduism Today renders it "It's boiling over!" Read more in Pongalo Pongal: meaning.
• "Tilgul ghya ani god god bola" is the Marathi saying spoken while handing over tilgul (sesame and jaggery sweets). Maharashtra Tourism translates it as "Take this sweet and speak kindly".

Wishes in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi will be added once native speakers have checked them.

A note on respect: Lohri and Maghi

Lohri and Maghi are Punjabi festivals kept by Hindus and Sikhs alike. Maghi also carries a Sikh commemoration: the fair at Sri Muktsar Sahib remembers the Forty Liberated Ones (Chali Mukte), Sikhs who fell defending Guru Gobind Singh. When you wish a Sikh friend on Maghi, keep that in mind. A plain "Warm wishes on Maghi" is respectful.

How to write your own Sankranti or Pongal message

1. Name the day. "Happy Mattu Pongal" means more than a generic greeting.
2. Add one detail they will recognise: the pot, the kite, the bonfire, tilgul, pitha.
3. Make it personal. Mention a shared memory or a family recipe.
4. Keep it short. Two sentences are enough on WhatsApp.
5. Match the person. Keep religious wording for people who share it; keep office notes neutral.
6. Avoid forwarded claims. Don't add quotes or "ancient sayings" you can't trace.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good short Pongal wish?

"Pongalo Pongal! May your table be full and your home loud with laughter." It names the festival, uses the traditional call and stays short enough for a text.

Can I wish someone "Happy Sankranti" and "Happy Pongal" on the same day?

Yes. Thai Pongal and Makar Sankranti fall on the same day in India in 2027. Use the name the person's family uses: Pongal for Tamil friends, Sankranti for Telugu, Kannada or Marathi friends, Uttarayan for Gujarati friends.

What should I send a colleague of a different faith?

A neutral harvest-season greeting works well: "Wishing you and your family a happy harvest festival and a strong start to the year." It is warm without assuming religious practice.

Is Lohri only a Hindu festival?

No. Lohri is a Punjabi festival kept by Hindus and Sikhs, and Maghi, the next day, carries a Sikh commemoration at Sri Muktsar Sahib.

When should I send Lohri wishes in 2027?

Lohri falls on Thursday 14 January 2027 in India per the panchang, the evening before Makar Sankranti. Send wishes that day or the evening before.

Sources

• Drik Panchang, Makar Sankranti 2027 (moment and city dates), via HinduTone's 2027 date file: https://www.drikpanchang.com/sankranti/makar-sankranti-date-time.html?year=2027 (accessed 11 November 2026).
• Drik Panchang, Thai Pongal 2027 (Chennai): https://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/pongal/thai-pongal-date-time.html?geoname-id=1264527&year=2027 (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Drik Panchang, Bhogi Pandigai, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal 2027: https://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/pongal/mattu-pongal-date-time.html?year=2027 (accessed 11 November 2026).
• Drik Panchang, Lohri 2027 (New Delhi): https://www.drikpanchang.com/calendars/indian/sikh-festivals/lohri/lohri-date-time.html?year=2027 (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Hinduism Today, "Sankranti or Pongal" (the "Pongalo Pongal!" call): https://www.hinduismtoday.com/2010-04-festivals-sankranti-or-pongal/ (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Maharashtra Tourism (Government of Maharashtra), "Makar Sankranti" (tilgul and its saying): https://maharashtratourism.gov.in/festivals/makar-sankranti/ (accessed 12 November 2026).
• eSamskriti, Bindu Krishnan, "How Pongal is celebrated over four days", 16 January 2022: https://esamskriti.com/e/Culture/Festivals/How-PONGAL-is-celebrated-over-four-days--1.aspx (accessed 12 November 2026).
• DT Next, "Avoid burning plastic, tyres on Bhogi: TNPCB requests residents", 9 January 2025: https://www.dtnext.in/amp/story/news/chennai/avoid-burning-plastic-tyres-on-bhogi-tnpcb-requests-residents-818656 (accessed 12 November 2026).
• The News Minute, "Chennai police to deploy 15,500 personnel for Kaanum Pongal on Jan 17", 15 January 2024: https://www.thenewsminute.com/amp/story/tamil-nadu/chennai-police-to-deploy-15500-personnel-for-kaanum-pongal-on-jan-17 (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Delhi Tourism (Government of NCT of Delhi), "Lohri": https://delhitourism.gov.in/dt/festivals/lohri.html (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism), "Maghi Mela, Sri Muktsar Sahib": https://www.incredibleindia.gov.in/en/festivals-and-events/punjab/maghi-mela-sri-muktsar-sahib (accessed 12 November 2026).
• The Sentinel (Guwahati), Dipak Kurmi, "Magh Bihu: a rich mosaic of traditions, feasts, and sport in Assamese heritage", 13 January 2025: https://www.sentinelassam.com/more-news/editorial/magh-bihu-a-rich-mosaic-of-traditions-feasts-and-sport-in-assamese-heritage (accessed 12 November 2026).
• Gujarat Tourism, International Kite Festival, "About" (rooftop kite flying on Uttarayan): https://ikf.gujarattourism.com/about.html (accessed 12 November 2026).

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.

Related guides

• Makar Sankranti 2027: date, Punya Kaal and meaning
• Pongal 2027: the four days
• Pongalo Pongal: meaning
• Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra
• Makar Sankranti and Pongal for kids
• Comparing Pongal, Sankranti, Lohri, Uttarayan and Bihu