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Pongal Festival

Festival of Harvest holds a very important position in India and its states. The sole reason behind this is that India is essentially an agriculture based country and its huge portion of population still survives on agriculture itself. The festivals of harvest are celebrated in different parts of India in different names. And on traveling to southern part of India like say Tamil Nadu you will find that the festival of harvest is celebrated with high spirits and is called Pongal Festival.

Pongal is very famous in Tamil Nadu. This festival is basically observed to mark the harvesting of crops by farmers. It is celebrated in the middle of the January month. As soon as January comes, people start preparing for the celebration of Pongal Festival. On the very day of Pongal Festival they pay their homage and express gratitude to god, earth, and cattle for blessing them with abundance of harvest.

The festival of harvest or Pongal Festival is celebrated for four days. All the four days of this festival have been given distinct names. Like the very first day of the celebration is called Bhogi Pongal. On the day of Bhogi Pongal people burn their old clothes and materials which in turn imply putting an end to the old and opening a door for the new. On the second day or Surya Pongal which falls on the first day of Thai, the Tamil Month women offer prayers to God Sun and get up early in the morning to decorate the grounds in front of their home with colorful kolums or rangoli. The third day of Pongal Festival is called Mattu Pongal. This is the day when devotees express their thanks to cattle that give them milk and help them plough the lands. However, the last day of this festival is called Kaanum Pongal. It is the day when people meet their elders to seek their blessings.

There are many things that are done in the celebration of Pongal Festival. But its main attraction lies in the Jallikattu Bull Fight. It is a very big event of the festival. In this event villagers fight with hefty bulls and try to control them. You can also see bullock cart races and cock fights in this festival.

India Holiday Travel.com offers full information on Tamil Nadu. To know every minute detail about this picturesque state in India, simply look at the information provided on Pongal Festival and others.

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