Pongal Festival

Pongal - another name for it is the Thai Pongal
Pongal is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Pongal is celebrated on the last day of the Maargazhi month and 3 day of the Thai month Tamil calendar

Significance

Pongal is the main festival of the Tamilians. It is also known as the Thanksgiving Day or the Harvest festival of the south India. In Tamil Pongal means 'boiling over or the spillover". Pongal is also called as the Thai Pongal as it falls in the month of Thai as per the Tamil calendar. This festival is celebrated during the time of the harvest; it is a tradition to thank the Sun God and the farmhouse livestock that helped to create the crop in large quantity. This festival is devoted to the Sun god Surya, the Tamils thanks the sun god for the good and abundant harvest. They offer their first harvest grain to the Lord Surya.

Celebration of Pongal

Pongal is celebrated for 4 days, during these four days the farmers thank the nature and the Lord Surya for their blessing. These 4 day are named as Bhogi Pongal, Thai Pongal, Maathu Pongal and the last one is the Kaanum Pongal.

1. Bhogi Pongal: this is the first day of the Pongal festival and is celebrated by the name Bhogi Pongal. This day is dedicated in the honor of the lord Indra as he is the supreme god of rain. On this day people discard the old things and start with a new beginning. On this day all the people of the area get collected at one place create a bonfire and discard all the old used belongings. On this occasion they clean, paint and decorate their houses.
2. Thai Pongal: this 2nd day Pongal falls on the first day of the Thai month, according to the Tamil months, hence this day is called as the Thai Pongal. Thai Pongal is celebrated by boiling rice with milk and jiggery in a new pot. This rice is later decorated with toppings of cashew nuts, brown sugar and raisins. It is a tradition to cook this rice at the time of sun rise. While cooking this rice when the milk boils and the bubbles pour out of the vessel it is the custom to shout 'Pongal Pongal", then mix the fresh harvested rice into the pot and carry the sangu. The Tamil people find it lucky to watch the boiling milk as it is associated with good luck and success. This cooked rice is later offered to the Lord Surya at the time of sunrise as to express their thanks for the good harvest. Later this rice is distributed to the people present in their house for this festival.
3. Maathu Pongal: this is the third day of Pongal and known as the Maathu Pongal. This day is dedicated to the cows. The cattle's play a vital role for the Indian farmsteads. This day is for expressing thanks for their cattle as affection by decorating the cattle with garland, bells in their neck, flowers and kumkum on their forehead. They also offer good food for their cattle.
4. Kaanum Pongal: this the last day of the Pongal festival which is called as the Kaanum Pongal. On this day family and their relatives come together to celebrate. Brothers give a unique tribute for their married sisters, they offer gifts as an affirmation of their love and respect for them. The landlords offer gift in the form of cloths, food and money to their workers.

Traditional food

The very famous traditional food cooked on this day is the Pongal rice, Ven Pongal, the Sakkarai Pongal, Chackra Pongal, sweet Pongal rice, Khara Pongal, and the rava Pongal. This festival is a very famous festival in Tamil nadu and is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm.