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Pongal is a harvest and a thanksgiving festival. Pongal literally means boiling over. It is traditionally celebrated at the time of harvest of crops and hence is a celebration of the prosperity associated with the event. The festival is predominantly celebrated in Tamilnadu, and in the neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, where it is called the Makara Sankaranthi .Pongal is also known as Tamizhar Thirunal or The Festival of Tamils. In Tamil, there is a saying , Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum, literally meaning, the birth of the month of Thai will pave way for new things.
Usually this day falls on January 14th or 15th in the Western calendar and the first day of the month of 'Thai' in Tamil Calendar.
The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal (in Tamil). People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands. Jallikattu, a violent taming the bull contenst, marks this day. On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic. During the pongal season, people eat sugar canes and decorate the houses with kolam .
Pongal as Hindu festival
Pongal is independent of religion and celebrated by all. Though sometimes it is used to refer to Hindu festival.
The festival has astronomicalAstronomy which etymologically means " law of the stars," (from Greek: + nomos) is a science involving the observation and explanation of events occurring outside Earth and its atmosphere. It studies the origins, evolution, physical and chemical propertie significance: it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the SunThe Sun (also called Sol is the star in our solar system. Planet Earth orbits the Sun. Other bodies that orbit the Sun include other planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and dust. Not all objects passing through the solar system have been orbitally capt's movement northward for a six month period. Uttarayana is considered auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun. All important events are scheduled during this period. Makara Sankranthi refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiacThis article is about the astrological concept. For other uses, see zodiac (disambiguation The zodiac (from Greek zoon "animal") is an imaginary belt in the heavens extending approximately 8 degrees on either side of the Sun's apparent path (the ecliptic) sign of MakaraThe word Makara can refer to several different things. In Aboriginal mythology, the Makara are the seven sisters who eventually became the Pleiades. In Hinduism, Makara is a sea monster and Varuna's mount. In the Hindu calendar Makara refers to the Zodiac or Capricorn.
