Pongal Day
In this story, we are going to discuss the festival Pongal.
Pongal festival is a harvesting festival celebrated across India in different regional names. In Tamil Nadu, it is celebrated as பொங்கல் திருநாள்(Pongal Day). It is a non-religious festival, that’s why we call it சமத்துவப் பொங்கல்(Pongal is for everyone).
It is not just celebrated on one day. Actually, the festival is for four days and each day is celebrated differently.
போகி(Bhogi)
This has a similarity to Eve. The celebration begins at night. During the night, we gather our outdated belongings from home and burn them on the fire. There is a saying about Pongal “பழையன கழிதலும், புதியன புகுதலும்” which means “to remove the old things and welcome the new things”. It’s not just about the old unused things, it also encompasses the things happening in life.
Nowadays, people burn many things without understanding this and make more pollution.
பொங்கல் திருநாள்(Pongal Day) or சூரிய பொங்கல்(Suriya Pongal — Pongal Day for Sun)
For many people, this is the most important day among the four days. It is the day to say thanks to the Sun (as a natural element, not as a god), which helps in farming. We will be making சக்கர பொங்கல்(Sakkara Pongal), a desert that everyone enjoys, and also வெண் பொங்கல்(Venn Pongal), a savoury breakfast with coconut chutney on this day. Venn Pongal is my favorite over Sakkara Pongal. Pongal Day is celebrated on the first day of the தை மாதம்(Thai month), which usually falls on January 14th or 15th. And it is the day we like to eat sugarcane. Without Pongal and sugarcanes, Pongal Day would not be full-fledged.
The Pongal is usually cooked in a pot on a wood-fire stove. It’s a tradition that we cheer “Pongalo Pongal! Pongalo pongal!” while the pongal is boiling over from the pot. One of my favorite parts of the festival.
We used to draw கோலம் (Kolam) at the entrance of our house. I came across a blog that thoroughly explains it.
There are so many games conducted, and most common game is பானை உடைத்தல்/உரியடி(Paanai udaithal /Uriyadi— Break the pot). The person who participates will be blindfolded by the people. Then they just spin them around, then they have to find the direction of the pot that is hanging, hit it, and break it. Sometimes, another person will pull the pot, so it will be very funny to watch.
Even though the Tamil New Year is officially on a different day, many people celebrate it on this day for political correctness. Maybe I will write about this in detail in another story.
மாட்டு பொங்கல்(Maatu Pongal — Pongal Day for Cow)
Pongal Day for Cow is celebrated on the second day of the Thai month. For those who have cows, they used to celebrate this day as their most important day than the previous day. There are those who view both of these days as significant. It is the day to thank the cows that help in farming. Their tradition was to decorate the cows and celebrate.
காணும் பொங்கல்(Kaanum Pongal — Day to see friends and relatives)
Today marks the last day of the festival. In the olden days, people visited their friends and relatives. Nowadays, people gather in public places like beaches and malls to meet people. Despite the consumption of most vegetarian foods in the past two days, this is the day for meat. People commonly prepare rice and meat curries. As a kid, I loved waiting for this day to eat meat, but I also feel sad that it’s the last day of the holiday.
I am certain that you possess a basic understanding of the stunning festival that is highly significant to Tamil people.