Thai Pongal in Sri Lanka
Thai Pongal in Sri Lanka is held on January 15. It is a harvest festival dedicated to the Sun. It is a four-day festival which according to the Tamil calendar is usually celebrated from January 14 to January 17. This event in the second decade of the month January is annual. Help us
Pongal was a festival celebrated during the Dravadian era and is mentioned in the Sanskrit Puranas. Still some historians choose to identify it with the festivals celebrated in the Sangam age. According to some historians Pongal was celebrated as Thai Niradal in the Sangam age. It is also a major Tamil festival in Sri Lanka.
Many Sri Lankans keep Thai Pongal as a two-day celebration. On the first day, a sweet rice meal is made, dedicated to the sun god, and then consumed by families in festive meals. The rice is boiled in milk, along with spices, raisins, cashews, and various other ingredients.
Spanning three days, the celebrations pay tribute to the Sun, ‘Surya’ while paying homage to cattle for their vital role in agriculture and farming. For those who do not belong to agricultural communities the festival provides them with the opportunity to express their thanks to the farmers for producing food for their sustenance.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day in Sri Lanka on January 14 (In honour of Lord Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka);
Navam Full Moon Poya Day in Sri Lanka on February 12 (The Buddha proclaims for the first time a code of fundamental ethical precepts for the monks);
Magha Puja on February 12 (Full moon, 3rd Thai lunar month);
Maha Shivaratri in Sri Lanka on February 25 (is a annual festival celebrated annually in honor of Shiva. There is a Shivaratri in every luni-solar month of the Hindu calendar, on the month's 13th night/14th day, but once a year in late winter and before the arrival of Summer, marks Maha Shivaratri which means "the Great Night of Shiva");