Pongal

Pongal Festival
Provide history, traditions and customs, regional significance, recipes, and more on the harvest festival of South India.
www.pongalfestival.org

Pongal
Pongal is not a festival celebrated only in the south. ... The word 'Pongal' basically means 'boiling over' and it marks the beginning of ...
www.auroville.org

Alai Vani
Jennifer Kumar's Blog ... It is this overflowing which means Pongal. ... This Pongal variety is called venpongal, ven meaning white. ...
alaivani.com

What is Pongal,Makara Sankranthi,Pongal Festival of Hindu
What is Pongal - what is pongal, makara sankranthi, pongal festival of hindu, ... History of Pongal. Legends of Pongal. Traditions & Customs. Meaning & Significance ...
www.pongalfestival.org

Thai Pongal
Festivals of the Tamil People ... Pongal - The four day harvest festival of Tamil Nadu - Jennifer Jayanthi Kumar ... Pongal - the Harvest Festival of South India ...
www.tamilnation.org

Indian Festivals
Indian Festivals - A glimpse into the colorful celebration of life in India with information for the reason of celebration ... The word 'pongal' refers to the ...
www.webonautics.com

YouTube - pongal
When the harvest is over, the people of Tamil Nadu express their gratitude to ... tamil pongal federal government grassroots outreach public service announcements ...
youtube.com

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: Permission denied in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: fopen(/home/templatecore2cache//*cluesnet.com/91/911f0cac672cc8d96b9c1516f5e939b6dbfb0351.tc2cache) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 130

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 131

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 132

{{Infobox Holiday ||holiday_name=Pongal
பொங்கல்|image=|caption=|observedby=Tamil people|date=First day of Thai in the Tamil calendar|type=Asian festival|significance=Harvest festival. Thanking Nature for prosperity|date2007=[January 15-->Pongal (Tamil language: பொங்கல்) is a Harvest Festival, mostly celebrated in south India. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over." Traditionally celebrated at harvest time, it is a celebration (party) of the prosperity associated with the harvest. Pongal is celebrated by the South India of Tamil Nadu as well as Tamil people worldwide, including those in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore. The festival has been in practice for some 5,000 years.

While Pongal is predominantly a Tamil people, it is also celebrated in several other provinces with different names. In Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka, the harvest festival Sankranthi is celebrated. In North India, Pongal is called Makara Sankranti. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, it is celebrated on the date of the annual kite flying day, Uttarayan. It also coincides with the bonfire and harvest festival in Punjab, India and Haryana, known as Lohri.People of all relegion celebrate pongal festival in India.

Celebration Tamil people refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunal" (meaning "the festival of Tamils"). This festival originated in Tamil Nadu. The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" (தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்) meaning "the birth of the month of Thai will pave the way for new opportunities" often is quoted regarding the Pongal festival.

Usually, the festival takes place January 12 — 15 (on the Gregorian calendar). The festival is celebrated four days from the last day of the Tamil month Tamil calendar (December — January) to the third day of Tamil calendar (January — February).

The first day, Bhogi, is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials, by setting them on fire, marking the end of the old Thai and the emergence of the new Thai.

The second day, Pongal, is the main day, falling on the first day of the Tamil month Thai (January 14 — January 15). Also known as Sarkarai Pongal or Veetu Pongal, it is celebrated by boiling rice with fresh milk and jaggery in new pots, which are later topped with brown sugar, cashew nuts and raisins early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel. This tradition gives Pongal its name.

The moment the rice boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of "Ponggalo Ponggal!" and blowing the sangu (a conch), a custom practiced during the festival to announce it was going to be a year blessed with good tidings. For Tamils, it is considered a good sign to watch it boil over, since it means that good luck and prosperity is forthcoming.

The New boiled rice is offered to the Nature during sunrise, a gesture which symbolises thanks to the sun and nature for providing prosperity. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other, and exchange greetings.

The third day, Maattu Pongal, is for offering thanks to cattle, as they help farmer in different ways for agriculture. Jallikattu, a "taming the wild bull" contest, is the main event of this day.

During the final day, Kaanum Pongal (the word kaanum means "to view") people visit beaches and theme parks. They also chew sugar cane and decorate their houses with kolam.

Astronomical significance The astronomy of the festival is that it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the sun's movement northward for a six-month period. In Hinduism, 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 zodiac of Makara (Capricorn).

See also

List of Harvest Festivals

External links

Pongal
Pongal Festival
Pongal from Dmoz.org
Significance and Philosophy of the Pongal festival
Lohri
Lohri Festival

Thai Pongal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thai Pongal (Tamil: தைப்பொங்கல்) is a harvest festival equivalent to a thanksgiving event celebrated by Tamils across the world. Pongal in Tamil means ...

Pongal (dish) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pongal is a popular rice based South Indian dish. There are two varieties of pongal, namely, sakarai pongal (sweet pongal), kara pongal (spicy pongal), also called ven pongal in ...

Cookbook:Sweet pongal - Wikibooks, collection of open-content ...
Cookbook | Recipes | Indian Cuisine | Dessert | Rice. Chakarai Pongal is a sweet and buttery porridge-like dish that is traditionally prepared in South India for the Makar ...

Bawarchi: Indian Festivals: Pongal
Provides an overview of the festival and includes a recipe for a traditional dish.

Google Directory - Society > Holidays > Pongal
Bawarchi: Pongal - http://www.bawarchi.com/festivals/pongal.html Provides an overview of the festival and includes a recipe for a traditional dish.

Pongal,pongal 2009,Pongal Day,Pongal Festival India
Pongal - pongal, pongal 2009, pongal day, pongal festival India, pongal in India, pongal celebrations, harvest festival of south indian, tamil festival pongal, pongal recipe ...

Pongal, Pongal Gifts, Pongal Cards, Pongal Greetings, Pongal 2008 ...
Information on Pongal, online resource for Pongal Gifts, Pongal Cards, Pongal Greetings, Pongal Wallpapers, Pongal 2008, Pongal Festival 2008, Pongal eCards, Pongal Gifts to India ...

Pongal Recipe,Recipes for Pongal,Pongal Recipes,Pongal Dishes,Pongal ...
Pongal Recipes - Find information on pongal recipe, pongal dishes, pongal festival recipes, recipes for pongal, recipes on pongal, pongal, pongal 2009, pongal festival india ...

Pongal
Information on Pongal festival, celebrations, rituals, traditions and culture related to this harvest festival of Tamilians. Also offers Pongal Cards, recipes and Pongal wallpapers

Pongal
Pongal ... Aurovilians know by now that India is a land of many festivals and religious celebrations, a fact regularly brought home to us by the often ...