Pongal (festival)

Pongal
Pongal dish cooked for the occasion of the festival
Observed by	Primarily Tamil Hindus in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, United States, Indonesia, Mauritius, Singapore, UK, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Gulf countries
Type	Hindu[1][2]
Significance	Harvest festival
Celebrations	Preparation of Pongal, decorations, home coming, prayers, processions, gift giving[3]
Date	Last day of the ninth Tamil calendar month of Margazhi (Bhogi) First day of the tenth month of Thai (Thai Pongal) and next two days
2025 date	13-16 January[4]
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Makar Sankranti, Magh Bihu, Uttarayana, Maghi, Maghe Sankranti, Shakrain

Tamil is written in a non-Latin script. Tamil text used in this article is transliterated into the Latin script according to the ISO 15919 standard.

Pongal (IPA: /ˈθaɪˈpoʊŋʌl/) is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils. The festival is celebrated over three or four days with Bhogi, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal, beginning on the last day of the Tamil calendar month of Margazhi, and observed on consecutive days. Thai Pongal is observed on the first day of the Tamil calendar month of Thai and usually falls on 14 or 15 January in the Gregorian calendar. It is dedicated to the solar deity Surya and corresponds to Makar Sankranti, the Hindu observance celebrated under various regional names across the Indian subcontinent.

According to tradition, the festival marks the end of winter solstice, and the start of the Sun's six-month-long journey northwards called Uttarayana when the Sun enters Capricorn. The festival is named after the ceremonial "Pongal", which means "boiling over" or "overflow" in Tamil language and refers to the traditional dish prepared by boiling rice with milk and jaggery. Mattu Pongal is meant for celebration of cattle, and the cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colors with garlands of flowers placed around their necks and processions on the day. The festival is traditionally an occasion for decorating with rice-powder based kolam artworks, offering prayers at home, visiting temples, getting together with family and friends, and exchanging gifts to renew social bonds of solidarity.

Pongal is also referred to as Tamizhar thirunal ("the festival of Tamil people") and is one of the major festivals celebrated by the Tamil people across various religions. It is observed by the Tamil diaspora in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, parts of South India, Sri Lanka and other parts of the world with significant Tamil population.