About Pongal
Pongal, also called Thai Pongal, is the great harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, celebrated as the Sun enters Makara rashi and the Tamil month of Thai begins. Its name comes from the dish at its heart: freshly harvested rice cooked with milk and jaggery in a clay or brass pot until it boils over, a joyful sign of abundance greeted with cries of "Pongalo Pongal". The festival is a heartfelt thank-you to Surya, to the earth and to the farm animals that share in the work of the fields.
Celebrations unfold over four days. Bhogi clears away the old, as households clean their homes and light bonfires of unwanted things. Thai Pongal, the main day, is marked with kolam designs at the doorstep, sugarcane and turmeric plants, and pongal cooked in the open facing the Sun. Mattu Pongal honours cattle, which are bathed, decorated and fed with care. Kaanum Pongal is a day for visiting relatives and going on family outings. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka the same season is celebrated as Sankranti, with its own harvest customs.
How it is observed
- Cleaning the home and lighting a Bhogi bonfire of old items
- Drawing kolam at the entrance and decorating with sugarcane
- Cooking sweet pongal in a new pot and letting it boil over
- Bathing, decorating and feeding cattle on Mattu Pongal
- Visiting family and enjoying outings on Kaanum Pongal
Pongal dates in past and coming years
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Monday, 15 January 2024 | Past |
| 2025 | Tuesday, 14 January 2025 | Past |
| 2026 | Wednesday, 14 January 2026 | Past |
| 2027 | Friday, 15 January 2027 | Next |
| 2028 | Saturday, 15 January 2028 | Upcoming |
| 2029 | Sunday, 14 January 2029 | Upcoming |
| 2030 | Monday, 14 January 2030 | Upcoming |
Dates are calculated from the Panchang for New Delhi. Some regions may observe a day earlier or later.
Across India
Celebrated widely in: Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Telangana Karnataka
The same season is marked in many ways. Where a region keeps the festival on a different day, its calculated date is shown.
Tamil Nadu
Bhogi
The festival opens with Bhogi, when homes are cleaned and old items are burnt in a bonfire at dawn to welcome a fresh start.
Date: Thursday, 14 January 2027
Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
Thai Pongal
On the main day, rice is cooked with milk and jaggery in a new pot in the open, and everyone calls out "Pongalo Pongal" as it boils over, thanking the Sun for the harvest.
Tamil Nadu
Mattu Pongal
The next day honours cattle, who are bathed, painted and garlanded. In Madurai and nearby villages it is also the season of the Jallikattu bull-taming sport.
Tamil Nadu
Kaanum Pongal
The last day is for visiting relatives, family outings and seeking the blessings of elders.
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Sankranti
The Telugu states celebrate Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma, with muggulu (rangoli), new clothes, kite flying and honouring cattle on Kanuma.
Date: Friday, 15 January 2027
Karnataka
Makara Sankranti
Families share ellu-bella (sesame, jaggery and coconut), and in villages cattle are decorated and led across a fire in a custom called kichchu haayisuvudu.
Date: Friday, 15 January 2027
Pongal falls in the same season as Makar Sankranti, Lohri and Magh Bihu in other parts of India.
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