Pongal is a four-day long harvest festival celebrated mostly in the states of South India, especially in Tamil Nadu. It’s celebrated in the winters when the sun reaches at the extremes of the southern hemisphere and starts returning to the northern hemisphere (as per Hindu calendar). Pongal will begin on the 15th of January and will continue till the 18th of January.
When Is Pongal Festiival 2020 Celebrated
| Name of the festival | Date | Day |
| Bhogi Festival | 14 January 2020 | Tuesday |
| Surya Pongal | 15 January 2020 | Wednesday |
| Mattu Pongal | 16 January 2020 | Thursday |
| Kaanum Pongal | 17 January 2020 | Friday |
Pongal Holidays 2020
| Name | Region |
| Makar Sankranti | Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha , Kerala |
| Uttarayana | Rajasthan, Gujarat |
| Maghi | Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh |
| Magh Bihu | Assam |
| Maghe Sankranti | Nepal |
Other Holidays in January 2020 in India
How Pongal is celebrated
The word “Pongal” is associated with rice and means “to boil”. The day is generally celebrated as a gesture of appreciation toward the Sun God for successful harvest. It is for this reason that people boil rice in milk and offer it to the sun before the commencement of the festival.
Since it’s a four-day festival, each day has its own significance. The first day is called the Bhogi festival and is observed to honour Lord Indra. A popular custom on this day is to burn all the useless items in a household by throwing them in a bonfire made of wood, cakes, and cow dung.
The second day of the festival is known as Thai Pongal. This is the day when people offer rice and milk boiled together to the Sun God. People also decorate their house entrances with Kolam. It’s usually done early in the morning after taking a bath.
The third day is celebrated as Mattu Pongal where people indulge in worshipping cows. As per the myth, Lord Shiva sent his bull—Basava to earth to send across the message that Shiva wants the mortals to take oil massage and bath daily and eat once a month. Basava got confused and conveyed just the opposite massage. Shiva, as punishment, asked Basava to return to the earth forever and help people produce more food by ploughing the fields.
The fourth and the final day is celebrated as Kaanum Pongal. On this day, the leftovers (food) are placed on a washed turmeric leaf along with sugarcane and betel leaves. The women then perform a ritual praying for the prosperity of their brothers.
A huge festival down south, Pongal is also known for its special traditional dishes. Witness this festival if you are in South India in the month of January.
List of Monthly Holidays 2020
Pongal Holidays In 2021
| Name of the festival | Date | Day |
| Bhogi Festival | 14 January 2021 | Thursday |
| Surya Pongal | 15 January 2021 | Friday |
| Mattu Pongal | 16 January 2021 | Saturday |
| Kaanum Pongal | 17 January 2021 | Sunday |
List of Trading Holidays 2020
Pongal 2020 In India: From Tuesday, 15 January To Friday, 18 January
Pongal is a popular Hindu festival celebrated in all parts of the country by different names. Tamil Nadu, a south Indian state, is famous for celebrating the festival of Pongal that lasts for 4 days. The festival is usually observed in the month of January every year. It brings happiness to the people being the first festival of the Gregorian calendar. Pongal is primary a thanksgiving to the Sun God for harvest. According to the Tamil calendar, Pongal is celebrated from 15 January to 18 January. This relates to the final day of the Tamil month Maargazhi.
Pongal denotes the beginning of the sun’s six-month long voyage northwards. This also relates to the Indic solstice when the sun professedly arrives the 10th house of the Indian zodiac Makara. The festival is fundamentally celebrated to express appreciation to the Sun God for an efficacious harvest. The origins of the festival of Pongal might date to more than 1,000 years ago. A portion of the celebration is the sweltering of the first rice of the season. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils, which is prescriptively consumed on the festival day.
Public Life During Pongal Holidays
Pongal is a religious holiday in central and south India for employees, but is not a gazetted holiday in India. However, colleges and schools in these regions remain closed for all fours of the festival. Businesses related to agricultural may remain closed. Pongal has various names. The most common variations include Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Poki, Bihu and Hadaga. The festivities of Pongal varies slightly in celebration. The common symbols associated with the festival include the sun, the chariot, wheat grains and the sickle. Employees may make a restricted number of restricted holidays, but government offices and most businesses remain open.
Three Best Destinations To Visit During Pongal Holidays In 2020
The following are the top five destinations you can commute to witness the Pongal fervor in Tamil Nadu:
- Madurai: Madurai pageants the true essence of the festivities of Pongal with numerous fields and temples. Visiting the temples in the city of Madurai is a great experience during Pongal holidays despite the crowds.
- Tanjavur: Tanjavur is a special destination with decorated houses and kolams. A special event to look out for is the celebration of Brihadeeshwar Temple’s Maatu Pongal.
- Pollachi: Pollachi is sited at a distance of 44 kilometers from the city of Coimbatore. It is the gateway to several scenic tourist places in the surrounding area.
