The gur calendar 2026 to 2027: every festival that is cooked with jaggery
Chhath, Lohri, Sankranti, Pongal, Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam: the dates for the year ahead, the jaggery dish each one is built on, and when to order.
In short: The jaggery year starts with Chhath Puja on 13 to 16 November 2026, when thekua and gur ki kheer are made. Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Pongal follow in mid-January 2027 with til gur, gajak and sakkarai pongal. Then Ugadi and Gudi Padwa on 7 April, Rama Navami on 15 April, Ganesh Chaturthi on 4 September and Onam on 12 September.
November 2026 to October 2027
| Festival | Date | The jaggery on the plate |
|---|---|---|
| Diwali | Sunday 8 November 2026 | Anarsa in Maharashtra and Bihar, adhirasam in Tamil Nadu |
| Chhath Puja | Friday 13 to Monday 16 November 2026. Kharna is Saturday 14 November. | Gur ki kheer on Kharna, thekua for the arghya |
| Lohri | Wednesday 13 January 2027 by custom. Panchang calendars give 14 January. | Gur, gajak, rewri and til for the bonfire, and gur ke chawal |
| Makar Sankranti | Thursday 14 or Friday 15 January 2027, depending on the calendar followed | Til gur laddoo, tilgul in Maharashtra, ellu bella in Karnataka, tilkut in Bihar, chikki |
| Pongal | Friday 15 January 2027. Bhogi is the 14th, Mattu Pongal the 16th. | Sakkarai pongal |
| Magh Bihu | 14 or 15 January 2027 | Til pitha and laru |
| Holi | Monday 22 March 2027. Some calendars give Tuesday 23 March. | Puran poli in Maharashtra |
| Ugadi and Gudi Padwa | Wednesday 7 April 2027 | Ugadi pachadi and bevu bella, jaggery with neem. Puran poli for Gudi Padwa. |
| Rama Navami | Thursday 15 April 2027 | Panakam |
| Vishu | Thursday 15 April 2027 | Vishu katta, served with jaggery |
| Ganesh Chaturthi | Saturday 4 September 2027 | Ukadiche modak |
| Onam (Thiruvonam) | Sunday 12 September 2027 | Sarkara varatti and ada pradhaman |
| Diwali | Friday 29 October 2027. Thursday 28 October in Tamil Nadu. | Anarsa and adhirasam |
Dates follow Drik Panchang for New Delhi and the Government of India holiday lists. Where the two differ, both are given. Local custom can move a festival by a day, so check your own calendar.
Why so many of them fall in winter
Cane is cut and crushed in the cold months, so the freshest gur of the year arrives just as the winter festivals do. Lohri, Sankranti, Pongal and Magh Bihu are harvest festivals within two days of one another, and every one of them puts new jaggery on the plate, with sesame in the north and with new rice in the south. The kitchen was following the kolhu.
How much gur to keep
| For | Makes | Gur needed |
|---|---|---|
| Thekua, from 1 kg of atta | About 75 | 600 g |
| Gur ki kheer, from 1 litre of milk | 4 to 5 bowls | 100 g |
| Til gur laddoo, from 500 g of sesame | About 55 | 500 g |
| Peanut chikki, from 500 g of peanuts | About 65 pieces | 500 g |
| Sakkarai pongal, from 1 cup of rice | 8 servings | 300 g |
| Puran poli, from 500 g of chana dal | About 25 | 500 g |
| Ukadiche modak | 21 | 290 g |
Scaled from the recipes on this site. The gur calculator does the sum for any batch.
When to order
We dispatch from Baghpat within 24 to 48 hours, Monday to Saturday. Counted from the day you order, a parcel usually takes two to three days in Delhi NCR, up to four across north India, up to eight in the rest of the country, and longer in remote areas. For a festival, order ten days ahead if you live outside the north, and a week ahead if you live in it. Couriers slow down in the days before Diwali and Chhath, so earlier is safer. The window for your own PIN code is shown on each product page.
Questions people ask
- When is Chhath Puja in 2026?
- Friday 13 November (Nahay Khay), Saturday 14 November (Kharna), Sunday 15 November (Sandhya Arghya) and Monday 16 November 2026 (Usha Arghya).
- When is Makar Sankranti in 2027?
- On 14 or 15 January 2027. Drik Panchang gives Friday 15 January, because the sun enters Makara late on the 14th. The Government of India holiday list gives Thursday 14 January.
- When is Lohri in 2027?
- Lohri is kept on the eve of Makar Sankranti. By custom that is 13 January; panchang calendars give Thursday 14 January for 2027.
- Which festivals use jaggery?
- Chhath (thekua, gur ki kheer), Lohri and Makar Sankranti (til gur, gajak, chikki), Pongal (sakkarai pongal), Magh Bihu (til pitha), Ugadi and Gudi Padwa (jaggery with neem, puran poli), Rama Navami (panakam), Ganesh Chaturthi (modak), Onam (ada pradhaman) and Diwali (anarsa, adhirasam).
- How much gur do I need for thekua for Chhath?
- About 600 g of gur for each kilo of atta, which makes roughly 75 thekua. Keep a little over one 500 g pack per kilo of atta.
- Why is jaggery eaten at Makar Sankranti?
- Because the festival falls in the middle of the cane-crushing season, when gur is fresh and plentiful, and sesame has just been harvested. Til and gur are what the season provides.