Pongal 2022: History And Significance Of This Festival
NDTV
Pongal 2022: The festival is celebrated by the Tamil community across the globe in mid-January every year.
India, being an agrarian country, brims with festivals that celebrate the harvest season. Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals in the country. The festival is celebrated by the Tamil community across the globe in mid-January every year. It, often, coincides with other harvest festivals across the subcontinent, such as Makar Sankranti. Pongal is celebrated around the same time as Lohri and Bihu.
This year, it will be celebrated from January 14 to 17. The four-day festival honours the Sun god and commemorates the Sun's northward voyage. It also signifies the end of winter.
History
Pongal is considered to be an ancient celebration, dating to the Sangam Age from 200 BC to 300 AD. It's originally a Dravidian harvest festival but finds mention in Sanskrit Puranas too. In the Sangam Age, Pongal was celebrated as Thai Niradal in the month of Margazhi. The festival was marked by the worship of goddess Katyayani through fasts and rituals. These festivities paved the way to today's Pongal.
