Celebration

The festival’s name is Pongal. Pongal is a four day harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu,India. Pongal is a celebration from January 14th to 17th, to give thanks for the harvest and welcome the new year. Pongal thanks the sun god, Mattu and also celebrates cattle and kaanum(the fourth and final day). Pongal is for family gatherings in rural India.

Homes are decorated with flowers, sugarcane and colorful Rangoli. A central dish is the Pongal , made with freshly harvested rice, milk, jaggery ghee(a simple, traditional mixture of unrefined cane sugar (jaggery) and clarified butter (ghee)), which is cooked in a new clay pot. Other foods include, lentil soup and rice cookies.

People wear traditional clothes with men often wearing dhotis & women wearing sarees. People visit relatives, exchange gifts and enjoy outdoor activities.

This is a festival that not only marks agricultural prosperity but also symbolizes the unity of communities in rural India.