Thai Moon Pongal

Pongal, gladly known as farmer’s festival of harvesting and thanksgiving, and also celebrated as Tamil New Year for last couple of years is now here. The yearlong hardworking and tiresome farmers celebrate this day as Pongal and not alone the farmers; almost every Tamils in the world celebrates this festival as thanksgiving to nature.

The world celebrates thanksgiving and harvesting day in different names, but the point of view and hope is one, and its nature the heaven. Pongal is also celebrated in other parts of India as Sankranthi - the transition of the Sun into Capricorn on its celestial path.

In the basis of sun and moon, our ancestors calculated this day to be celebrated on the first day of Thai moon, which falls almost on January 14 or15, where sun diverts its path towards north after 6 months journey towards south. On this day people hope good things happen to them.

The pongal is celebrated for four days by marking bhogi, pongal, mattu pongal and kaanum pongal. In all these four days, pongal is considered as auspicious and holy day of harvest. On this day, farmers are seen on wealth and set to begin there auspicious affair and hope it continue throughout the month and year.

It’s sad to see, only on these days alone we think about farmers and there need and deed to us. Keeping away the faith, I appreciate this tradition celebrated for a true cause that holds our breath. More than the pongal that witness in cleaning up homes, drawing colorful lines and lightning clay pots to boil and flow milk as auspicious sign of vivid life, I love mattu pongal (bull pongal). It’s my favorable festival where we celebrate the cattle and bulls, who are our intimate friends of farmer in helping on many activities esp. the bulls that are used for plowing, caring, feeding…

On this day, the places around the bull stable are cleared up and a pongal pot is lit on a corner and bulls are taken into bath and painted colorful horns. Later the boiled pongal with varies vegetables are feed to them and set free on this day without giving much work to them and farmers get together in evening and next day by visiting there favorite places. Hope the auspicious begins on this day continues in our lives and esp. our life saving farmers. Happy Pongal