Anaivarukkum enadhu iniya maalai vanakkam mattrum pongal nal vaazhthukkal.

Pongal is a harvest festival dedicated to the sun God. It is a four day festival which
according to the tamil calendar is usually celebrated on the 14 th January to 17th
January. In tamil nadu, pongal is referred to as Tamizhar thirunaal or as Thai
pongal, Thai is the name of the tenth month in Tamil calendar. Pongal means
festivity or celebration, more specifically translated as boiling over or overflow.
Thai pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated in the state of
Tamilnadu as well as Tamilians worldwide.

The origins of the Thai pongal festival may date more than 1000 years ago and
evidence suggests the celebration during Chola empire days.

Thai Pongal corresponds to Makara Sankaranti, the harvest festival celebrated

throughout India. The day marks the start of suns six month long journey
northwards towards the equinox (the Uttaraayanam) and signifies the gradual
heating of the earth.

Bhogi

The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi. On this day people discard old
belongings and celebrate new possessions. The people assemble at dawn in to
light a bonfire in order to burn the discards. Houses are cleaned, painted and
decorated to give a festive look. They decorate their homes with banana and
mango leaves and embellish the floor with kolam/ rangoli drawn using rice flour.
The horns of the oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages. Farmers keep the
medicinal herbs like neem, in the northeast corner of each fields, to prevent crops
from disease and pests.

Thai Pongal

The main event, takes place on the second of the four days. During this day they
cook Pongal. Cooking is done in aclaypots on a mud stove, in the sunlight, usually
in the porch or courtyard. Milk is cooked in the claypot, when it starts to bubble
and overflows out of the vessel, freshly harvested rice grains are added to the pot
and other participants shout Pongalo pongal. The dish is served on banana
leaves.

Mattu Pongal

Mattu pongal is celebrated the day after Thai Pongal. Tamilians regard cattle as
sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer and labor for plowing and
transportation. On this day celebrants bathe and decorate their cattle with
garlands, kungumam to their foreheads and feed them a mixture of venn pongal,
jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. Kanu pidi is a tradition for women and
young girls feed the birds and they offer prayers in the hope that brother-sister
ties remain forever strong as they do in a crow family.

Kaanum Pongal

Kaanum Pongal,the fourth day of the festival, marks the end of Pongal festivities
for the year. The word kaanum means “to visit”. Many families hold reunions on
this day. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as
affirmation of their filial love. Villagers visit relatives and friends while in cities
people flock to beaches and theme parks with their families. Many cultural events
and games such as the popular Jallikattu, known as taming of bulls, are held in
several places all over Tamilnadu. Celebrants chew sugar cane. Relatives and
friends receive thanks for their assistance supporting the harvest.

Nandri. Vanakkam.