Pongal- the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, Pongal The festival of Tamil, Celebration of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Pongal the harvest festival of Tamil- Pongal Festival. Celebration of Pongal in Tamilnadu.  in South,

Pongal is the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu. All Tamilians in the world celebrate this festival enthusiastically and joyfully.    People on abroad and other places reach their own houses during this period and united there to enjoy the festival.  Pongal is the biggest event for the Tamillians. 

The meaning of Pongal in Tamil is "boiling over or spill over" or clearly say the act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future wishes for the family.  During Pongal  people exchages greetings ,  scraps and cards to   friends, relatives and loved one to wish a special Pongal festival greetings.  

Pongal usually falls in the month of January.  This year this comes on January 15^th Sunday  2012. 

Pongal is not a festival celebrated only in the south. It is also celebrated in the north of India, by the name of 'Makkar Sankrati'

Pongal is not a festival celebrated only in the south. It is also celebrated in the north of India, by the name of 'Makkar Sankrati'. The word 'Pongal' basically means 'boiling over' and it marks the beginning of the harvest festival.

Legends behind Pongal

1.      The most popular legend is the one connected to the first day when the rain god 'Indra' is worshipped. According to this legend it was on this day that lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan Mountain to shelter his people to save them from being washed away by the rains and the floods.

2     Another well known legend is associated with the third day of Pongal (Mattu Pongal, or Cow Pongal).  It says that lord Shiva once asked his faithful bull 'Nandi' to go to earth and tell the people that they should have an oil bath every day and eat food only once in a month. But  Nandi  confused  on this matter and  told the people that they should eat food daily and take oil bath once  in a month! This definitely displeased Shiva and he decreed that, since the people would now need to grow more grains, Nandi would have to remain on earth and help them plough the fields. And so the poor bull has roamed the earth forever. See all this happened due to  getting a message wrong?

Four days of Pongal

The four day festival consists of Bhogi-Pongal, Surya-Pongal, Mattu-Pongal and Kanyapongal. On the first day which is called the Bhogi Pongal the day begins with a til (sesame) oil bath. In the evening a huge bonfire of old clothes, files, mats and rugs is made. The day is devoted to the Rain god, Indran (Bhogi). Legends say that on this day that Krishna lifted the Gobardhan mountains on his little finger.

Surya-Pongal, the second day is dedicated to Surya (sun). Women boil Pongal, which is rice cooked in milk and jaggery and offer it to the sun on this day.

The third day is dedicated to honour and worship the cattle (mattu) and is called Mattu-Pongal. The cattle are bedecked with turmeric and kumkum on their horns and small bells and flowers are hung around their necks. They are then paraded in the streets and given Pongal to eat which is later offered to the local deities.

On the last day which is Kanya-Pongal coloured balls of the Pongal are offered to birds. In several places of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Jallikatu (which is a kind of bull fight) are held. Unarmed villagers try to snatch the bundles tied to the horns of ferocious bulls. Bullock cart races and cock fights also form a part of this event. In Andhra Pradesh, community meals at night with the freshly harvested products is a speciality. All houses displays their collection of dolls for three days.

How to prepare a pongal: 

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