Pongal (Indian festival) : Le Pongal - பொங்கல் literally boiled over in Tamil - also called Makar Sankranti in other parts of India (ಸ ೦ ಕ್ರಾ ೦ ತಿ in Kannada) is a harvest festival and thanksgiving, but also propitiatory of theIndia.
Pongal is historically a Party secular independent of Hinduism (*), which could indicate a very ancient origin. Mainly celebrated in South India, especially at Tamil Nadu. , riding a Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, it is also at Singapore and Malaysia where there are Tamil communities. Despite this preponderance of South India, we recognize this Party in other parts of theIndia, in the North for example where it bears the name of Makar Sankranti.
Au Maharashtra and in the Gujarat, it takes the form of a kite competition. At Punjab and Haryana she is celebrated under the name of Lohri.
The Pongal is held over four days throughout popular Tamil Nadu. , a state ofSouth India. For as long as people have been planting and picking food, there was some form of harvest festival. Pongal, one of the most important popular Hindu festivals of the year. This international festival day of Thanksgiving Day takes its name from the Tamil word meaning 'to boil' and is held in the month of Thai (January-February) during the season where the rice and others cereals, sugar cane, and the turmeric (a ingredient essential in Tamil cuisine) are harvested.
Celebration:
Au Tamil Nadu. : Pongal is also known as Tamizhar Thirunal. The holiday usually takes place on January 14 or 15 which is the first day of the Thai month in the Tamil calendar. A Tamil proverb says: Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum (தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்), or: The birth of the month of Thai paves the way for new opportunities.
The party lasts four days. During the first, Bhogi, the old fabrics and clothes are thrown away and burned, marking the start of a new life. On the second day, the day of Pongal, we put boil du rice with some milk frais and treacle or cane sugar, early in the morning, leaving the mixed overflow, which explains the name of the Party. People prepare in case and desserts, visit each other and exchange vows. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is intended to give thanks to cows and buffalo, because the legend says that the livestock agreed to help the man to plow the fields, only on the condition of being celebrated and honored once a year. A proof of devotion is requested, where devotees of Shiva are asked to master his wild mount, with bare hands and at their own risk, the vehicle of the god Shiva being the Taurus, a practice called Jallikattu. On the last day, Kanum Pongal - "kanum" meaning to see - young people gathered on the banks of rivers to look for a future spouse, a practice which has now fallen into disuse. During this period people consume sugar cane and decorate their house with kolam.
Le international festival Tamil Pongal is a festival of the moisson, an occasion traditional to give thanks to nature, to celebrate the cycles of life that give us grain. Tamilians say 'pirandhaal Thai Vazhi pirakkum', and believe that the knotty family issues will be resolved with the advent of the Tamil Thai month which begins on Pongal Day. This is traditionally the month of weddings. This is no surprise in a predominantly agricultural community - the wealth gained from a good harvest form the economic basis for expensive family occasions like weddings.
Au Karnataka : In Karnataka, the Party is an opportunity to visit neighbors, friends and relatives to exchange greetings. We prepare then a flat called Ellu made of seeds de sesame, coconut, sucre, etc.
Astrological meaning: The Party has an astrological significance, it marks the beginning of the period of Uttarayana, when the sun travels its northernmost six months of racing in the sky. In Hinduism (*), Uttarayana is considered auspicious, opposed to Dakshinaayana, the southern movement of sun. It is in this period that we plan important events. Makara Sankranthi refers to the entry of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Makara, i.e. Capricorn.
(*) Hinduism: Hinduism, or Hinduism, or sanatana dharma, is one of the oldest religions in the world still practiced which has neither founder, nor imposed dogma, nor uniformly organized clerical institution.