Pongal

Pongal , pongal or tai-pong ( there. தைப்பொங்கல் ) is a Hindu harvest festival traditionally dedicated to the sun god Surya and celebrated by the Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka . In other regions, this festival is called Makara Sankranti . The goal of Pongal is to express gratitude to the sun god for the harvest and offer him the first collected grains. Pamgal in Tamil means "boil over" or "overflow". For Tamil people, boiling milk symbolizes material prosperity.

The holiday is celebrated from January 13 to 15 according to the Gregorian calendar , which in the Tamil calendar corresponds to the period from the last day of the Margaji month to the third day of the Thai month. Thus, Pongal also symbolizes the beginning of the new thai month.

Pongal also marks the day of the winter solstice and the beginning of the movement of the Sun to the north, which is called Uttarayana in Indian astrology .