Kaanum Pongal is an ancient festival for the Tamils and it is celebrated on the third day of month of ‘Thai’ in the Tamil calendar. [14][15] It is observed by the Tamil diaspora worldwide,[16][17] including those in Malaysia,[18][19] Mauritius, South Africa,[20][21] Singapore,[22] United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Bhogi Pongal: It is the first day of the main Pongal festivity and in 2021, it will fall on Thursday, 14 January. [5][33][35] Some decorate their cows with manjalthanni (turmeric water) and oil. It is made both salty and sweet. Decorations and social visits are also common in many parts of Karnataka. Pongal, which is also known as Thai Pongal, basically falls on January 14. Thanking the Sun God for agricultural abundance [37] The word kanum (kaanum) in this context means "to visit." [7][8][9] The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maattu Pongal. Pongal, also famously known as Thai Pongal is a traditional festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu on the first day of the Tamil month of ‘Thai’. The cows are bathed and decorated with garlands, turmeric water, and paint on their horns. [2], Learn how and when to remove this template message, Detail pongal and coconut chutney recipe with photos, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pongal_(dish)&oldid=994520293, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from October 2019, All articles needing additional references, All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, chakarai pongal, venn pongal, milagu pongal, puli pongal, This page was last edited on 16 December 2020, at 03:43. The rituals including the cooking of milk-rice-jaggery dish, social visits, and the reverence for cattle is observed in Kerala communities. [1][12], Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in India. These were a part of the charitable grants received and served by free community kitchens in Tamil and Andhra Pradesh Hindu temples either as festival food or to pilgrims every day. [5] Temples and cultural centers organize the ritual cooking of Pongal dish, along with fairs (Pongal mela) with handicrafts, crafts, pottery, sarees, ethnic jewelry for sale. This type of pongal is made during the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu and during Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh. The people assemble and light a bonfire in order to burn the heaps of discards. The Savory Pongal is known as Ven Pongal, Khara Pongal or Ghee Pongal. :: Midrand Hindu Dharma Sabha | Hindu Festivals - Prayer Dates - Religious Calendar - 2015 - 2016 ::", "History of the Tamil Diaspora (V. Sivasupramaniam)", "Newspaper Full Page - The Straits Times, 14 January 1937, Page 5", "Minister Kenney issues statement to mark Thai Pongal", "» Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau on Thai Pongal", "Community celebrates Thai Pongal harvest festival (From Harrow Times)", What is Pongal? Pongal 2020 is a festival that marks the end of the winters and the beginning of the harvest season. Learn some amazing facts about this harvest festival, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pongal_(festival)&oldid=996045116, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Harvest festival. Pongal is a rice dish where rice and dal are boiled in plenty of water till cooked, soft and porridge-like consistency. The cooking pot is made of clay and is enhanced with colorful patterns. Pongal is the only festival of Hindu that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year. Ven pongal is also called khara pongal. In Telugu and Kannada, pongali is a dish of rice mixed with boiled milk and sugar. [10][29] According to Andre Bateille, this tradition is a means to renew social bonds. [7][30][31] It is the first day of the Tamil calendar month Tai, and coincides with Makara Sankranthi – a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. [43] The Attukal Pongala has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest gathering of women in the world, featuring an estimated 2.5 million women. Relatives and friends are invited, and the standard greeting on the Pongal day typically is, "has the rice boiled"? It is observed on the same day as Tamil Pongal, and is a limited state holiday in the districts of Wayanad, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram. 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. [42], While the Attukal Pongala pilgrimage and festival has roots in the Hindu culture and temple, it attracts participation from women from other religions. The third day of Thai Pongal is referred to as Mattu Pongal, and it is a festival where people offer prayers to cows, bulls and other farm animals. The day marks the start of the Uttarayana, when the sun enters the 10th house of the zodiac Makara (Capricorn). [44] The celebrations include dance (Kathakali) and musical performances by boys and girls, as well as major processions featuring the temple goddess. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. It is celebrated on the winter solstice, when, according to the traditional Hindu system of reckoning, the Sun, having reached its southernmost point, turns to the north again and reenters the sign of makara (Capricorn), usually on January 14. [38] 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. [10] Sometimes additional ingredients are added to the sweet dish, such as: cardamom, raisins, Green gram (split), and cashew nuts. The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maatt… It is traditionally offered to the gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered. The Sun is offered a “Pongal” of rice and milk. Melagu (Tamil word for pepper) Pongal is a spicy variant of the same dish made with pepper, rice, and moong daal. [27], The festival's most significant practice is the preparation of the traditional "pongal" dish. [4] The blessing of abundance by Goddess Pongal (Uma, Parvati) is symbolically marked by the dish "boiling over". Pongal 2021 Dates and Types. This festival signifies abundance and overflowing of the harvest. பொங்கல் பண்டிகை தை 1-ம் நாள் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. It is a four-day-long festival starting with Bhogi, followed by Surya Pongal, then Mattu Pongal, and finally Kannum Pongal. New clothes are worn to mark the start of the festival. [27] Further, the terms ponakam, ponkal and its prefixed variants have meant either the festive pongal dish by itself as prasadam, or the pongal dish as part of entire thali (now alankara naivedya). [7][27] Along with the sweet version of the Pongal dish, some prepare other versions such as salty and savoury (venpongal). So Pongal is the most important festival and celebrated in Tamilnadu. [46][47], In Karnataka, the festival days are similar, except the dish is called "Ellu". – lit. [5][13] It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka. Pongal is a very important and popular festival of the Hindus. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled in milk and jaggery that is ritually consumed on this day. 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. Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions. [7], According to Anthony Good, the dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and materially. [10][4][11] 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. On Mattu Pongal, cattle are decorated – sometimes with flower garlands or painted horns, they are offered bananas, a special meal and worshipped. The four-day long harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, Pongal is all about thanksgiving to nature and takes its name from the Tamil word meaning "to boil" and is held in the month of Thai (January-February). 2. Temples and communities organize free kitchen prepared by volunteers to all those who gather. It is also called as Thiruvalluvar day. Pongal is a 4-day long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu. The word pongal generally refers to spicy venn pongal and is a common breakfast food. [34], Tamilians 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. The festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm, quite like Thanksgiving in America. Pongal or huggi is a popular South Indian rice dish. Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, This page was last edited on 24 December 2020, at 06:18. [4][12] 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. Other ingredients include coconut and ghee (clarified butter from cow milk). Pongal is prepared as an important dish during Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu and Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh. 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