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Concept
Pongal (festival)
Summary
Pongal (பொங்கல், 'θaɪ'poʊŋʌl), also referred to as Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல்), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka. It is observed at the start of the month Thai according to Tamil solar calendar, and this festival is celebrated usually on January 14 or January 15 depending on the sun's orbit around earth that particular year. It is dedicated to the sun god, Surya, and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India. The three days of the Pongal festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, and Mattu Pongal. Some Tamils celebrate a fourth day of Pongal known as Kanum Pongal.
According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the sun's six-month-long journey northwards when the sun enters the Capricorn, also called as Uttarayana. 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). To mark the festival, the pongal dish is prepared, first offered to the gods and goddesses, including Surya. Mattu Pongal is for worship of the cow known as Madu. Cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colors, and garlands of flowers placed around their necks. The pongal that has been offered to the deities is then given to cattle , and then shared by the family. Festive celebrations include decorating cows and their horns, ritual bathing and processions. 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.
Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry in India. It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka.
Official source
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