Happy Pongal In South India

Pongal is a four day long harvest festival celebrated in the southern part of India. Observed during the month of January, it is a way of thanking nature for the gift of harvest and farming, which is one of the prime occupations of people across India. Harvest festivals have been an important part of the country’s festival calendar for as long as people have started organised farming and gathering of food. Pongal, which means ‘to boil’ in Tamil is one of the most important Hindu festivals.

Pongal is the only Hindu festival which is celebrated according to a solar calendar and falls on the fourteenth or fifteenth day of January every year. The festival also has a lot of astronomical significance attached to it, marking the beginning of the Uttarayana phase or the sun’s northwards movement for a period of six months. Uttarayana is considered especially auspicious according to Hindu traditions as opposed to Dakshinayana, which marks the movement of the sun towards the south.
Pongal marks the end of the farming season and provides the farmers a break from the hectic routine. The temples are heralded with bells and drums while the villages mark the occasion by preparing rice in pots. Offerings of rice, vegetables and sugarcane are made to the gods and the people pray for the prosperity of all.

Happy Pongal Every One !! God bless all !!