Celebrating multi-day harvest festival Pongal
Pongal
SEO Title: Celebrating multi-day harvest festival Pongal
Pongal is a multi-day festival that is dedicated to the Sun god corresponding to Makar Sankranti, celebrated as a harvest festival in various parts of the country. The festival starts at the end of the winter season and is the start of the sun’s journey northward. It is celebrated for four days like Bhogi, Surya Pongal, Maatu Pongal, and Kaanum Pongal.
Pongal is most commonly celebrated at the beginning of the Tai month according to the Tamil solar calendar falling on January 14. The word ‘Pongal’ means “to boil”, which signifies a traditional dish prepared on this day that involves a mixture of a new harvest of rice, milk, and jaggery. The dish is then offered to the Gods and Goddesses followed by the holy cows and then it is served to the family members.
During the celebration of Pongal, cows and their horns are decorated. They also decorate their houses with kolam artworks made with rice powder along with banana leaves at the entrance of the house. People offer prayers to God, meet families, exchange gifts, and have meals together.
Here is a description of the 4-day celebrations of Pongal:
The first Pongal can be found in one of the inscriptions in the ‘Viraraghava temple’ which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This particular inscription talks about king Kulottunga I from the Chola period which refers to a piece of land that was given by the king to the temple for celebrating Pongal every year.
The first day of Bhogi Pongal corresponds to the last day of Marghazi. People burn old and not-so-used things in the fire and bring new things home. People offer prayers to Lord Indira hoping for rain and bring prosperity to the land.
On the second day of Pongal people worship and perform puja by boiling rice in milk in an earthenware pot which is then offered to the Sun God. A turmeric plant is then tied around the pot in which the rice is boiled. These particular offerings include the sticks of sugarcane in the background along with coconut and bananas in the dish.
On the third day, Mattu Pongal is celebrated for cows. People tie multi-colored beads, sheaves of corn, tinkling bells, and flower garlands around the neck of the cattle and are worshipped by feeding them the Pongal prepared.
It is believed that Lord Shiva once asked his bull ‘Basava’, to go to earth and to convey humans a message. The message stated that humans should have a bath along with an oil massage every day of the week. However, contrary to what Lord Shiva said, Basava conveyed to humans that they’re supposed to eat every day and have an oil bath only once every month. This mistake made Lord Shiva curse Basava by banishing him to live on the earth forever. And he would have to plow all the fields, help people produce more food. And hence this day is dedicated to cattle.
The Fourth day is celebrated as Kannum Pongal. On this festive day, a turmeric leaf is washed and placed on the ground with all leftover sweets, Pongal, sugarcane, and plantains. Especially in Tamil Nadu, women perform this ritual before bathing in the morning. The women of the house will then assemble in the courtyard. Special aarti is performed for brothers with turmeric water, rice, and this water is sprinkled on the kolam in front of the house.
In any festival, the most important part would be to bring people closer together. Pongal is one such festival where friends and family get together to share their love and collectively pray and thank gods for providing the world with food. Enjoying these moments with our loved ones gifts us many memories to carry forward for a lifetime.