Pongal 

(பொங்கல்,  is also referred to as Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல், also spelled Tai

Pongal), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival of South India, particularly in the Tamil community.[1][6]
[7]
 It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar,[6] and this is typically
about January 14.[1][2] It is dedicated to the Hindu sun god,[8] the Surya, and corresponds to Makar
Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India.[9][10][11] The
three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maattu Pongal.
[9]
 Some Tamils celebrate a fourth day of Pongal as Kanum Pongal.[7]

The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "to boil, overflow" and refers to the
traditional dish prepared from the new harvest of rice boiled in milk with jaggery (raw sugar).[12][6] To
mark the festival, the pongal sweet dish is prepared, first offered to the gods and goddesses
(goddess Pongal), followed sometimes with an offering to cows, and then shared by the family.
Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions.[12][6][13] It
is traditionally an occasion for decorating rice-powder based kolam artworks, offering prayers in the
home, temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds
of solidarity.[2][14]

The festival's most significant practice is the preparation of the traditional "pongal" dish. It utilizes
freshly harvested rice, and is prepared by boiling it in milk and raw cane sugar (jaggery).
[12]
 Sometimes additional ingredients are added to the sweet dish, such as: cardamom, raisins, Green
gram (split), and cashew nuts. Other ingredients include coconut and ghee (clarified butter from cow
milk).[9][31] Along with the sweet version of the Pongal dish, some prepare other versions such as salty
and savoury (venpongal). In some communities, women take their "cooking pots to the town center,
or the main square, or near a temple of their choice or simply in front of their own home" and cook
together as a social event, states Gutiérrez.[31] The cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or
courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. Relatives and friends are invited, and the
standard greeting on the Pongal day typically is, "has the rice boiled"?[12]
The cooking is done in a clay pot that is often garlanded with leaves or flowers, sometimes tied with
a piece of turmeric root or marked with pattern artwork called kolam. It is either cooked at home, or
in community gatherings such as in temples or village open spaces.[32] It is the ritual dish, along with
many other courses prepared from seasonal foods for all present. It is traditionally offered to the
gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered.
Temples and communities organize free kitchen prepared by volunteers to all those who gather.[12]
[33]
 According to Andre Bateille, this tradition is a means to renew social bonds.[2] Portions of the sweet
pongal dish (sakkara pongal) are distributed as the prasadam in Hindu temples.[9]
The dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and
materially.[6][14] It celebrates the harvest, the cooking transforms the gift of agriculture into nourishment
for the gods and the community on a day that Tamil's traditionally believe marks the end of winter
solstice and starts the sun god's journey north.[6] The blessing of abundance by Goddess Pongal
(Uma, Parvati) is symbolically marked by the dish "boiling over".[32]

Bhogi Pongal[edit]
The Pongal festival begins on the day called Bhogi Pongal, and it marks the last day of the Tamil
month Marghazi.[34] On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The
people assemble and light a bonfire in order to burn the heaps of discards. Houses are cleaned,
painted and decorated to give a festive look. The horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages.
New clothes are worn to mark the start of the festival.[9][34] The deity of the day is Indra – the god of
rains, to whom prayers are offered, with thanks and hopes for plentiful rains in the year ahead.[9][34]
Bhogi is also observed on the same day in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In the ceremony called
Bhogi Pallu, fruits of the harvest such as regi pallu and sugar cane are collected along with flowers
of the season. Money is often placed into a mixture of treats and is poured over children. The
children then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits.[citation needed]

Surya Pongal[edit]

For Pongal, homes and streets are decorated with kolam floor artwork

Surya Pongal – also called Suryan Pongal or Perum Pongal – is the second and main festive day,
and is dedicated to the Hindu god Surya.[9][34][35] It is the first day of the Tamil calendar month Tai, and
coincides with Makara Sankranthi – a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. The day
marks the start of the Uttarayana, when the sun enters the 10th house of the
zodiac Makara (Capricorn).[7] The day is celebrated with family and friends, with the Pongal dish
prepared in a traditional earthen pot in an open space in the view of the sun.[7] The pot is typically
decorated by tying a turmeric plant or flower garland, and near the cooking stove are placed two or
more tall fresh sugarcane stalks.[7]
The pongal dish is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, in a group setting. When it starts to bubble,
freshly harvested rice grains and cane sugar are added to the pot. As the dish begins to boil and
overflow out of the vessel, one or more participants blow a conch called the sanggu while others
shout with joy "Pongalo Pongal"! – lit. "may this rice boil over".[36] This is symbolism for the shared
wish of greater fortunes in the year ahead.[9][34] In rural settings, the gathered women or neighbors
sing "kuruvai trills" (traditional songs) while the pongal dish is cooking.[6] The dish is offered to the
gods and goddesses, sometimes to the village cows, and then shared by the community. Men
traditionally offer prayers to the sun with the ''vanakkam'' posture in open, and then proceed to eat
their meal.[37] According to James Lochtefeld, the Pongal dish is first offered to Surya and Ganesha,
and then shared with the gathered friends and family.[38]
Tamil Hindus decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the entrance
space before homes, corridors or doors with decorative floral, festive or geometric patterns drawn
using colored rice flour. These are called kolams.[7]

Mattu Pongal[edit]

Left: Offerings from harvest to gods and goddesses; Right: Mattu, lit. "cow", in a kolam.

Mattu Pongal is celebrated the day after Surya Pongal. Mattu refers to "cow, bullock, cattle", and
Tamil Hindus regard cattle as sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer, transportation
and agricultural aid. On Mattu Pongal, cattle are decorated – sometimes with flower garlands or
painted horns, they are offered bananas, a special meal and worshipped.[7][37][39] Some decorate their
cows with manjalthanni (turmeric water) and oil. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their
foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and
other fruits. Others bathe their cattle and prostrate before them with words of thanks for the help with
the harvest.[37]
In cities, the day marks the ritual visit to nearby temples and prayers there. Temples and
communities hold processions by parading icons from the sanctum of the temple in wooden chariots,
drama-dance performances encouraging social gatherings and renewal of community bonds.[37]
Other events during Pongal include community sports and games such as cattle race, the Jallikattu.
[37][40]
 The major cultural festivals on Pongal occur near Madurai.[7]

Kanum Pongal[edit]
Festive dress, dance event and community processions for Pongal.

Kanum Pongal, sometimes called the Kanu Pongal, the fourth day of the festival, marks the end of
Pongal festivities for the year.[41] The word kanum (kaanum) in this context means "to visit." Many
families hold reunions on this day. Communities organize social events to strengthen mutual bonds.
[9]
 Villagers cut and consume farm fresh sugarcane during social gatherings.[42] Relatives, friends and
neighbors visit to greet, while youngsters go out to meet seniors among the relatives and
neighborhoods to pay respects and seek blessings, while some elders give the visiting children
some pocket change as a gift.[9][43]
Kanu Pidi is a tradition observed on Mattu Pongal by women and young girls. They place a leaf of
turmeric plant outside their home, and feed the leftover pongal dish and food from Surya Pongal to
the birds, particularly crow.[7][37] They pray for their brothers' well being, in a manner similar to Bhaiya
dooj in north India.[7] Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation
of their filial love.[9]

It is basically a harvesting festival or it can be considered as the 'thanksgiving' festival' because

this festival is celebrated to thank the Sun God and Lord Indra for helping farmers in getting
better-yielding crops. During the festival, people reject old belongings and welcome new stuff.

What is Pongal?
Pongal is a thanks-giving festival celebrated throughout Southern India. The word ‘Pongal Is
derived from Tamil literature and its literal meaning is ‘to boil’. Pongal is also the name of a rice
based dish, which is prepared for this festival. It basically is a harvest festival and the only
festival to follow the solar calendar. This festival is celebrated on the 14th of January every year.
Pongal marks the initiation of the sun's movement towards the North for a six month period. It is
considered very auspicious as opposed to the Southern movement of the sun. It signifies the
event when the sun enters the zodiac sign Capricorn (Makar) and thus the name Makar
Sankranti.
History of Pongal Pongal is an ancient festival, a festival whose presence can be traced back to
200B.C to 300A.D i.e the Sangam Age. Pongal was a festival celebrated during the Dravadian
era and is mentioned in the Sanskrit Puranas. Still some historians choose to identify it with the
festivals celebrated in the Sangam age. According to some historians Pongal was celebrated as
Thai Niradal in the Sangam age. It is also believed that during this period, unmarried girls prayed
for the agricultural prosperity of the country, and for this purpose they also observed penance.
These young unmarried girls would also perform fasting and believed that it would bring a
healthy crop, abundant wealth and prosperity to the country for the year ahead.

Legends of Pongal
Festivals in India always have some legends, importance, myths attached to them. While there
are many attached to Pongal as well, the following two legends are the most famous ones.

First legend
According to this legend, Lord Shiva once asked his bull, Basava to go down to the earth and ask
the people to eat once a month, have an oil massage and bath everyday. Although
unintentionally, Basava accidentally announced that everyone should have an oil bath once a day
and eat everyday. Lord Shiva’s wrath was such that he banished Basava to live on the earth
forever. Here on earth, he would be required to help the people produce more food and thus help
them. This might be the reason for the association of cattle to this day.

Second legend

This legend is about Lord Krishna and Lord Indra. The legend says that Lord Krishna in his
childhood decided to teach a lesson to Lord Indra, who had become arrogant after becoming the
king of all deities. Lord Krishna had angered Lord Indra by asking all the cowherders to stop
worshipping Lord Indra. He then sent his clouds of devastation to cause thunderstorms and
floods. Lord Krishna then lifted the Mount Govardhan, providing shelter to all beings and
showed Lord Indra his divinity. After this Lord Indra’s false pride was shattered and he then
apologized to Lord Krishna.

How is Pongal celebrated?

According to Hindu mythology and astrology this festival marks up a very auspicious occasion,
as the day when God begins, after a six month long night. The celebration for this festival is
spread across three days.The first day is marked by a special puja, performed by cutting on the
paddy. The farmers worship the sun and the earth by smearing their ploughs and sickles with
sandalwood paste.

Each of the three days has a different festivity. The first day is a day to be with your family and
is known as Bhogi Pongal. The second day is dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun God as
in known as Surya Pongal. On this day boiled milk with jaggery is offered to the Sun God. The
third day, Mattu Pongal is the day for worship of cattle, also known as Mattu. Cattle are bathed
and cleaned, their horns are polished with bright colours and they are garlanded with flowers.
The Pongal offered to the gods is later offered to the cattle and birds.
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