HAPPY THAI PONGAL TO ALL TAMIL PEOPLE

Observed by	Tamils
Type	Festival, Tamil People Tamilnadu,India. Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lanka
Significance	Harvest festival. Thanking the sun god for agricultural abundance
Celebrations	Feasting, gift-giving, visiting homes
Date	First day of the tenth month of Thai in the Tamil calendar
2013 date	14 January 4 days long
2014 date	14 January

Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல்) or Pongal (பொங்கல்) is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people at the end of the harvest season.^[1]Pongal is a four day festival which usually takes place from January 13 to 16 in the Gregorian calendar i.e., the last day of the Tamil monthMaargazhi to the third day of Tamil month Thai.

The second of the four days i.e., first day of the Tamil month Thai is the second and main day of the festival and this day is known as Thai Pongal. This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi which is a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. The day marks the start of sun’s six-month long journey northwards or the Uttarayanam.^[2] This also represents the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.

It is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Tamil people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory ofPuducherry,^[3][4] and Sri Lanka.

In Tamil, the word Pongal means "overflowing" which signifies abundance and prosperity. On the day of Pongal, at the time of sun rise there is a symbolic ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new clay pots and when the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, people shout "Pongalo Pongal!"^[2][5] The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thankfulness to the Sun as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest. It is the Surya Mangalyam. Tamilians decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.

The history may well be more than 1000 years old although some are of the view that the festival is older than that. Epigraphic Evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. It is thought that Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year.^[6] The link between that past and today's harvest festival needs to be further researched. Tamils refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal" (meaning "the festival of Tamils")^[7] Makara Sankranti in turn is referred to in the Surya Siddhanta.

The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi when people discard old things and focus on new belongings. The disposal of derelict things is similar to Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu to light a bonfire to discard old used possessions. The house is cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. In villages, the horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in colors and people celebrate it in a grand way as most of them would have their harvest ready or even would have made money out of the harvests.

This tradition is observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh where it is also called "Bhogi." The fruits from the harvest are collected (such as regi pallu and sugar cane), along with flowers of the season, in a ceremony called Bhogi Pallu Money is often placed into a mixture of Bhogi Pallu, and the mixture is poured over children, who then collect the money and sweet fruits.

This day is celebrated in Punjab as Lohri and in Assam as Magh Bihu / Bhogali Bihu.

Tamil Nadu - celebrated as Thai Pongal Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh - celebrated as Makara Sankranthi Gujarat and Rajasthan celebrated as Uttarayana Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab - celebrated as Lohri Assam - celebrated as Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu Nepal - celebrated as Maghe Sankranti or Makar Sankranti