are harvested. 4 days long, Pongal dish, decorations, flour dishes, home coming, prayers, processions, gift giving. 4. Pongal or huggi is a popular South Indian rice dish. Pongal is a Tamil harvest festival or Winter harvest festival celebrated in Tamil nadu, a south Indian state. Puli (Tamil word for Tamarind) Pongal is a variant made with tamarind and boiled rice. [1][12], Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in India. Many families hold reunions on this day. [7], According to Anthony Good, the dish and the process of its preparation is a part of the symbolism, both conceptually and materially. [5], Kanum Pongal, sometimes called the Kanu Pongal, the fourth day of the festival, marks the end of Pongal festivities for the year. [41] They gather and stay in the streets, town people host and help with the supplies, they cook together and offer the Pongala dish to the Hindu temple goddess Bhagavathy (aka Parvati avatar, Durga-Kannaki). … [46][47], In Karnataka, the festival days are similar, except the dish is called "Ellu". ஆடி மாதத்தில் பயிரிட்ட பயிர்கள் நல்ல விளைச்சளைத் தைமாதம் தரும். [7] Villagers cut and consume farm fresh sugarcane during social gatherings. These sites hold traditional community sports such as Uri Adithal ("breaking a hanging mud pot while blindfolded"), Pallanguzhi and Kabbadi, as well as group dance and music performances in major cities and towns. Others bathe their cattle and prostrate before them with words of thanks for the help with the harvest. பொங்கல் பண்டிகை தை 1-ம் நாள் கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது. இதில் அறுவடை செய்த நெல்லின் அரிசியைக்(பச்சரிசி) கொண்டு பால், சர்க்கரை/வெல்லம், நெய், முந்திரி, திராட்சை மற்றும் ஏலக்காய் சேர்த்துப் புது பானை & புது அடுப்பில் கொதிக்க விட்டு பொங்கு… This also signifies the abundance of wealth and happiness. [40], Of particular note is the largest pilgrimage and annual gathering of Hindu women to the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple near Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala). [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. [33][36] The major cultural festivals on Pongal occur near Madurai. Men traditionally offer prayers to the sun with the namaskaram posture in open, and then proceed to eat their meal. It is believed to be 1000 year old festival, originated in Tamil Nadu. So Pongal is the most important festival and celebrated in Tamilnadu. The horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages. Bhogi Pongal: It is the first day of the main Pongal festivity and in 2021, it will fall on Thursday, 14 January. It is held to honor the Sun, for a bountiful harvest. Melagu (Tamil word for pepper) Pongal is a spicy variant of the same dish made with pepper, rice, and moong daal. Makar Sankranti is observed with various names in different regions of India; Pongal in Tamil, Lohri in Punjab, Uttarayan in Gujarat. Pongal is one such big festival, celebrated every year in mid-January--mostly in the south of India and especially in Tamil Nadu--to mark the harvest of crops and offer a special thanksgiving to … [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. The uniqueness of the festival reminds us … [10] 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). [37] The word kanum (kaanum) in this context means "to visit." 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. [30] On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The Pongala festival falls according to the Malayalam calendar, in the month of Makaram-Kumbham (February–March). Mattu Pongal (January 15, 2021) -- is dedicated to the worship of cows, which provide essential help to farmers in the fields and milk to drink. The celebrations of Pongal come to an end with Kaanum Pongal. Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival celebrated over India and Nepal on the joy of getting new crops for farmers. It is the only festival in India that follows a solar calendar. It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar, and this is typically about January 14. [10], 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 also called as Thiruvalluvar day. For as long as people have been planting and gathering … Pongal 2020 is a festival that marks the end of the winters and the beginning of the harvest season. Venn (Tamil word for white) Pongal is a popular savory dish in Tamil, Sri Lankan and other South Indian homes and is typically served as a special breakfast especially in Tamil Nadu and Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. [44] The celebrations include dance (Kathakali) and musical performances by boys and girls, as well as major processions featuring the temple goddess. Pongal is a rice dish where rice and dal are boiled in plenty of water till cooked, soft and porridge-like consistency. Thanking the Sun God for agricultural abundance Pongal is a four-day-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, which falls in the month of Thai (that is, the January-February season) when crops like rice, sugarcane, turmeric etc. Pongal is a four-day long harvest festival celebrated mostly in the states of South India, especially in Tamil Nadu. Pongal (Makara Sankranti) Type of Holiday: Religious (Hindu) Date of Observation: Three days in mid-January Where Celebrated: India Symbols and Customs: Cow, Rice ORIGINS The three-day Pongal festival is part of Hinduism, which many scholars regard as the oldest living religion. The final Pongal is served with banana leaves. Pongal is also associated with delicious food, and recipes that are famous in the Southern Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, as well as in countries with Tamil diaspora including Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. Pongal festival is the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu that falls in the month of Thai (January-February season). Ven pongal is also called khara pongal. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, to offer thanksgiving to the Sun God. Pongal is a harvest festival – the Tamil equivalent of Thanksgiving. Contemporary practices and related festivals, According to James Stewart, this reverence for cattle – as, "Public holidays for 2020 announced, Tamil Nadu Government", "Jaffna Hindu College :: Thai Pongal tomorrow, Thursday 15 Jan 2015", "Washington Embassy celebrates Thai Pongal | Embassy of Sri Lanka – Washington DC USA", "Thai Pongal celebrated across the globe", "Meaning of 'Thai Pongal' - TAMIL NADU - The Hindu", "Malaysian Prime Minister Greets Ethnic Tamils on Pongal", "Najib extends Pongal wishes to Indian community | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online", ". It is not specifically associated with the Pongal festival and is often eaten for dinner. [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. Pongal Festival. Sweet pongal) is generally prepared in temples as a prasadam, (an offering made to a deity). It is either cooked at home, or in community gatherings such as in temples or village open spaces. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled in milk and jaggery that is ritually consumed on this day. [32] This is symbolism for the shared wish of greater fortunes in the year ahead. Pongal 2021 Dates and Types. On Mattu Pongal, cattle are decorated – sometimes with flower garlands or painted horns, they are offered bananas, a special meal and worshipped. 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. 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. [7][8][9] The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Maattu Pongal. For the unversed, Pongal is a few days Hindi harvest festival which is mainly celebrated by Tamil people. Pongal is undeniably one of the most popular festival celebrated in South India. [50] It is celebrated in many parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.[51]. Pongal or huggi is a popular South Indian rice dish. [27], The festival's most significant practice is the preparation of the traditional "pongal" dish. [5][13] It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka. [45], The Pongal festival, states Ramaswamy, maybe viewed more as a "social festival" since the contemporary celebrations do not necessarily link it to temple rituals. It is a four-day-long festival starting with Bhogi, followed by Surya Pongal, then Mattu Pongal, and finally Kannum Pongal. [4] The blessing of abundance by Goddess Pongal (Uma, Parvati) is symbolically marked by the dish "boiling over". It generally falls in the month of January. [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. [33], In cities, the day marks the ritual visit to nearby temples and prayers there. [1] Huggi is derived from the Old Kannada word Puggi meaning "bubbled up, ballooned". [7], The Pongal festival begins on the day called Bhogi Pongal, and it marks the last day of the Tamil month Marghazi. Chakarai pongal is made during the Pongal festival. It’s celebrated in the winters when the sun reaches at the extremes of the southern hemisphere and starts returning to the northern hemisphere (as per Hindu calendar). Decorations and social visits are also common in many parts of Karnataka. Following are the date on which the four days of Pongal are celebrated: When is Pongal Celebrated Bhogi Pongal The first day or Bhogi Pongal is dedicated to the worship of Lord Indra, the rain God. 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. [7][27] Along with the sweet version of the Pongal dish, some prepare other versions such as salty and savoury (venpongal). Chakarai Pongal or Chakkara Pongali (transl. 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). It is usually served with sambar and coconut chutney. [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. Pongal (பொங்கல், /ˈθaɪˈpoʊŋʌl/, also spelled Poṅkal), is also referred to as Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல், also spelled Tai Pongal), is a multi-day Harvest festival observed by the Tamil community. This festival signifies abundance and overflowing of the harvest. This type of pongal is made during the Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu and during Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh. 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. Pongal is an ancient celebration for the people of Tamil Nadu that is celebrated for four continuous days. [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. Chakarai Pongal is often sweetened with jaggery, which gives pongal a brown color, though it can be sweetened with white sugar instead. [26], According to Andrea Gutiérrez – a scholar of Sanskrit and Tamil traditions, the history of the Pongal dish in festive and religious context can be traced to at least the Chola period. Huggi is derived from the Old Kannada word Puggi meaning "bubbled up, ballooned". Pongal is the only festival of Hindu that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year. :: 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? Credited to the Chola king Kulottunga I (1070-1122 CE), the inscription describes a grant of land to the temple for celebrating the annual Pongal festivities. [27] Some of the major Hindu temple inscriptions from Chola Dynasty to Vijayanagara Empire periods include detailed recipe which are essentially the same as the pongal recipes of the modern era, but for the variations in seasonings and relative amounts of the ingredients. Free food is distributed to everyone on the streets. Pongal is a popular harvest festival of Tamil Nadu that marks the first day of the sun's return journey to the northern hemisphere, widely known as Makar Sankranti in India. Sweet pongal, known as chakkara pongal, is boiled with jaggery (raw brown sugar), raisins, nuts and milk. [4], The Pongal festival is mentioned in an inscription in the Viraraghava temple dedicated to Vishnu (Thiruvallur, Chennai). Pongal Festival Date As the day of Pongal celebration is decided according to the solar calendar, the Pongal date remains the same every year. For Pongal, homes and streets are decorated with. The festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm, quite like Thanksgiving in America. Pongal is a very important and popular festival of the Hindus. Meaning of the word Kaanum is "to visit". [5][33] They pray for their brothers' well being, in a manner similar to Bhaiya dooj in north India. "may this rice boil over". 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. [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. The cooking pot is made of clay and is enhanced with colorful patterns. These are called kolams. It is traditionally offered to the gods and goddesses first, followed sometimes by cows, then to friends and family gathered. Mattu Pongal is the 3rd day of the Pongal celebrations and is observed on the second day of the Thai month in the Tamil calendar. 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. Thai Pongal is mostly celebrated in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in India. – lit. [42], While the Attukal Pongala pilgrimage and festival has roots in the Hindu culture and temple, it attracts participation from women from other religions. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. The children then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits. It lasts for four days, of which the third is dedicated to cattle. Other ingredients include coconut and ghee (clarified butter from cow milk). It is made both salty and sweet. [27] The cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. [7][30] In rural settings, the gathered women or neighbors sing "kuruvai trills" (traditional songs) while the pongal dish is cooking. [5], The pongal dish is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, in a group setting. Thai Pongal is a harvest festival that is observed by the Tamils, a people who trace their origins to India, but whose population is now widely spread throughout the world. It utilizes freshly harvested rice, and is prepared by boiling it in milk and raw cane sugar (jaggery). It is one of the most important and popular Hindu festivals. When it’s made salty/savory - salt, mild spices and ghee are added (known as ven pongal – ven means white). 3. [10] Sometimes additional ingredients are added to the sweet dish, such as: cardamom, raisins, Green gram (split), and cashew nuts. In Tamil "pongal" means "bubbling up". [23][24][25], Tai (தை, Thai) refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, while Pongal (from pongu) connotes "boiling over" or "overflow." It is also celebrated by tamilians worldwide, including those living in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, USA, Canada and Singapore. 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’. It is celebrated to thank the Sun God and Lord Indra for helping the farmers to grow and yield better crops throughout the year. [48], This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi,[49] and Maghi (day after Lohri). [10][29] According to Andre Bateille, this tradition is a means to renew social bonds. When it starts to bubble, freshly harvested rice grains and cane sugar jaggery are added to the pot. [3][4][5] It is observed at the start of the month Tai according to Tamil solar calendar,[4] and this is typically about January 14. 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. Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. Money is often placed into a mixture of treats and is poured over children. Pilgrims take holy dip at Triveni Sangam January 13, 2016 5:56 am [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. Ingredients can include rice, coconut, and mung bean. [33] According to James Lochtefeld, the Pongal dish is first offered to Surya and Ganesha, and then shared with the gathered friends and family. Pongal is known as the “harvest festival” of South India particularly in the state of Tamil Nadu. 2. [5] Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Pongal is prepared as an important dish during Pongal festival in Tamil Nadu and Sankranthi festival in Andhra Pradesh. The two varieties of pongal are chakarai pongal, which is sweet, and venn pongal, which is made from clarified butter. 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