Pongal
Next: January 15, 2027
Let the pot boil over.
The story
Where it comes from
Pongal is the Tamil harvest festival, a thanksgiving to the Sun, to nature and to the farm animals that help bring in a good harvest. Its main day falls on the first day of Thai, a Tamil month counted as auspicious, which begins when the Sun enters Capricorn by the Indian reckoning, on 14 or 15 January. The name comes from the Tamil word pongu, 'to boil over', and it is also the name of the sweet rice dish at the heart of the festival. What began as a farmers' festival is now kept by Tamils of every background and profession.
How it's celebrated
The festival lasts four days. On Bhogi, homes are tidied and old things thrown out. On Surya Pongal, a kolam of rice flour is drawn at the door and fresh rice is cooked with milk and sugar or jaggery in a new pot at dawn; as it boils over, the family calls out 'Pongalo Pongal'. Mattu Pongal honours cattle with paint, flowers and bells, and on Kaanum Pongal families visit relatives and seek their elders' blessings.
Did you know
- Sugarcane, one of the season's important harvests, stands for prosperity, and is offered with the Pongal dish before the family shares it.
- In Singapore, Pongal is not a public holiday, but Little India lights up Serangoon Road and live cows and calves are brought to Campbell Lane for visitors to meet.
- Sri Lanka keeps Tamil Thai Pongal Day as a public holiday.
The greeting
Happy Pongal · இனிய பொங்கல் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்
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