Happy Pongal - Iniya Pongal Nal Vazhthukal

         Pongal is a highly sacred festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu to mark the

harvesting season..It  is celebrated as 'Makara Sankaranthi' in different regions across India and this  usually falls in the mid of January...Pongal is celebrated by offering prayers to the Sun God.. The houses are cleaned and well decorated before Pongal'

M e a n i n g o f P o n g a l

  Pongal literally means "Boiling over" and it signifies the arrival of prosperity and is associated with the harvest by thanking the sun god, rain and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest. In villages, people owning cows find this festival important.

'Pongal' or 'Thai Pongal' is also called 'Makara Sankaranthi', since it is celebrated on the first day of Thai when the Sun enters the Makara Rasi (Capricornus). This signals the end of winter and the onset of spring throughout the northern hemisphere

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 Maargazhi (December-January) to the third day of Thai (January-February).

Pongal is normally celebrated over a period of four days.. Pongal festival spans over four days period. Each of these days hold a significance of its own

Let's take a look how each day of this four day Pongal festival hold significance.

*  Bogi Festival*  Surya Pongal*  Mattu Pongal*  Kaanum Pongal

Bogi Festival

        Bogi festival or Bhogi is the first day of Pongal celebrated in honor of Lord

Indra, "the God of Clouds and Rains" is also known as Indran (bhogi).

Legends say that on this day that Lord krishna lifted the Govardhan mountains on his little finger.

All the houses from the richest to the humblest are thoroughly scrubbed and whitewashed. Homes are cleaned and decorated with "Kolam" - floor designs drawn in the white paste of newly harvested rice with outlines of red mud. Often pumpkin flowers are set into cow-dung balls and placed among the patterns. Fresh harvest of rice, turmeric and sugarcane is brought in from the field as preparation for the following day.

There is a tradition to purchase new clothes, sugarcane and new vessel to cook pongal on Bhogi day

The Bonfire

Another ritual observed on this day is Bhogi Mantalu, when useless household articles are thrown into a fire made of wood and cow-dung cakes. This bonfire is mainly made out of old clothes, files, mats and rugs etc. The event of putting the junk on the fire is called the Bhogi Neruppu (Bhogi fire)

Surya Pongal

     Surya Pongal and is dedicated to Surya (Sun God). It is the day on which the celebration actually begins and is also the first day of the Tamil month Thai.

The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" which means "the birth of the month of 'Thai' will pave a way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival.

Women wake early on this day to create elaborate colorful rangoli (pongal kolam) on the grounds in front of their doorway or home.

Every member of the family gets up early in the morning, bathes, puts on new clothes and gathers to cook the traditional pongal

On this day the new rice is collected and cooked in pots until they overflow. The pot, in which the Pongal is cooked, is decorated with flowers, sugarcane pieces, turmeric plant, etc.

Pongalo Pongal,Pongalo Pongal

It is this overflowing which means Pongal. This overflowing of rice is a joyous occasion, and the children and adults as well will shout out 'Pongal-o Pongal!'' The first offering is made to the Sun

Maattu Pongal

 Mattu pongal which is the festival of cattle. Cow (Gomaatha), the giver of milk and the bull, which draws the plough in the fields, are very valuable for the people specially the ones who live in villages .So the farmers honor their cattle friends by celebrating it as a day of thanks giving to them.

The cattle are washed; their horns are painted and covered with shining metal caps. Multi-colored beads, tinkling bells, sheaf's of corn and flower garlands are tied around their necks. They are fed with pongal and taken to the village centers. On the Mattu Pongal day Lord Ganesh and Goddess Parvati are worshipped and Pongal is offered to them in the 'puja'.

Legend of Mattu Pongal

According to a legend, once Shiva asked his bull, Basava, to go to the earth and ask the mortals to have an oil massage and bath every day and to eat once a month. Inadvertently, Basava announced that everyone should eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. This mistake enraged Shiva who then cursed Basava, banishing him to live on the earth forever. He would have to plough the fields and help people produce more food. Thus this day is associated with cattle.

Kaanum Pongal

      This day is also known by the name of Kaanum Pongal when colored balls of cooked rice are placed in the open air by girls for the birds and crows to eat. With each ball of rice that the sister makes she prays for her brother's happiness and the brothers and sisters wherever they may be remember each other'

Arati is performed for the brothers with turmeric water, limestone and rice, and this water is sprinkled on the kolam in front of the house.

In few places this day is also known as Karinaal or Thiruvalluvar Day. This day is dedicated to the sun god, Surya and has its roots in ancient Brahminical tradition. Since Pongal is a rural, agrarian based festival that celebrates the harvests, the sun is a vital part of the proceedings. This is because the Sun is the symbol of life on Earth.

Jallikattu- The 'Bull Festival'

  Jallikattu is arranged in many places like Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Tanjavur on this day. It is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebration. This is one of the oldest living ancient sports seen in the modern era.

The term 'Jallikattu' comes from the term "Salli" kaassu (coins) and "Kattu" (meaning a package) tied to the horns of the bulls as the prize money. Later days during the colonial period this term got changed to Jallikattu which is the term currently usedJallikattu is based on the simple concept of "flight or fight". cattle being herd and prey animals in general tend to run away from unwanted situations..

This sport is also known as "Manju Virattu", meaning "chasing the bull".

Pongal Special

  Festival means a chance to have lots of sweets...Besides the preparation of Pongal or the special sweet rice pongal is also the time to prepare some of the mouth-watering Tamil delicacies like Sakkarai Pongal(Sweet Pongal),Ven Pongal (Butter Pongal),Payasam(Sweet pudding),Aval Payasam,Murukku etc.

Significance of Sugarcane During Pongal

Ever wondered why is sugarcane an indispensable part of Pongal? Sugarcane symbolizes sweetness and happiness. But there is also a myth associated with the widespread use of Sugarcane during Pongal.

It is said that on a 'Perum Pongal day', Lord Shiva performed the miracle of feeding sugarcane to a stone image of an elephant in the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Lord Shiva is known as Lord Sundareshwar in Meenakshi temple and there is a stone carving based on the event in the temple

Wishing You All A Very Happy Pongal&

Makara Sankaranthi

Ellorum Iniya Pongal Nal Vaazhthukkal