Celebrating the festival of Thai Pongal

in Sri Lanka

Naomi Booth :: Tuesday 14th January 2025 :: This Story

Picture: /files/latest-news/694/w288/pongal-photo-1.jpgHindu families in Sri Lanka and around the world are  celebrating the festival of Thai Pongal this week. Pongal is a harvest festival observed by the Tamil community, is a gratitude-filled celebration acknowledging the Sun, Mother Nature, and farm animals for their contributions to a plentiful harvest. This celebration lasts for four daysand it coincides with the auspicious Tamil month of Thai, typically occurring on January 14th or 15th each year. The festival's namesake dish, also called Pongal, is a sweet rice mixture derived from the Tamil word 'Pongu,' which means the act of boiling over.

The festival of Pongal is celebrated by Sri Lankans over two days. The first day is devoted to the boiling of milk in a pot to which rice, jaggery and the syrup extracted from crushed sugar cane is added. This sweet rice pudding is offered first to the Sun God and is then eaten at the climax of a family festive meal.

The first day of Pongal is called Bhogi. It is a day where cleaning and discarding of old belongings are carried out to signify a fresh start. New clothes are worn, houses are decorated in the spirit of the festivity. The second day is the main day of Pongal and is celebrated as Surya Pongal.

Ocean Stars would like to wish all our staff, communities in Sri Lanka and around the world a Happy Pongal.