Happy Pongal!

This week Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal and its New Year.

Pongal is a harvest festival that is celebrated in Tamil Nadu on January 14 and festivities continue for four days.

The first day is named Bhogi, at 3am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning Hindu's get up and bathe they then clean out their houses and make a bonfire of all the useless rubbish they have accumulated over the year and they pray to Indra, the Rain God. (Expect a fair old smog in the morning!) they will then draw spectacular Rangoli at the entrance to their houses.

The second and main day is known as Surya Pongal is dedicated to the Sun God. The newly harvested rice, jaggery, cashew nuts and dahl along with milk is cooked in a new clay pot until the mixture boils and spills over. The boiling over of the 'Pongal' is symbolic of plenty and signifies that the harvest will always be good. Each family member will eat a small amount of the mixture and sprinkle the rest around the house as a prayer to the Sun God to bless their house.



The third day is Mattu Pongal when cows and bulls are honoured as they are the main source of sustenance for the farmers. Milk suppliers decorate their cows with clothes and ribbons and their horns are painted, they are then taken to visit all the houses to bring all good luck.

The fourth day is Kannum Pongal when family members visit each other and enjoy days out. In some of the villages bull fights are held and money is tied to their horns as a way to tempt unarmed men to fight them.

Luke's school held a Pongal celebration today where we all watched the boiling and spilling over of the Pongal. We then ate a small amount, shame Luke fell asleep because it was delicious and I'm certain it wouldn't have been half as tasty had it been left, so I had to finish it. Rude not to!