Happy Pongal Cards And Photos - Regional And National Holiday in India And Sri Lanka, Pongal Food And Decoration Ideas
This is a popular Hindu festival that occurs on or around 14 January across India. It is also celebrated as a public holiday in Sri Lanka.
The day is known by various names and a variety of different customs are observed in the different Indian states.
Despite these variations, it is a harvest and thanksgiving festival marking the start of spring, the end of the traditional farming season and the gathering of the first food from the harvest.
It is unique among Hindu festivals as the date is based a solar calendar rather than the phases of the moon. This means it falls on 14 January in the western calendar.
The date of Pongal marks the start of Uttarayana, the time when the sun starts to move northwards after the winter equinox.
This date is now actually 21 December in the Western Calendar, but the time of the equinoxes moves by 50 seconds each year due to the wobble of the Earth's axis.
This shows the ancient age of this festival - a thousand years ago, the festival was on 31 December.
Uttarayana is also considered a time of good fortune and important events are scheduled during this period.
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