Next: 14 to 17 Jan 2027
Pongal
The Tamil harvest festival: rice boiled until it spills over, sugarcane, decorated cattle and kolam at every door.
When is Pongal in 2027?
Pongal 2027 runs from 14 to 17 January 2027. Other years: 2028, 15 to 18 January 2028.
About Pongal
Pongal is the Tamil thanksgiving for the harvest, celebrated over four days in mid-January. On the main day, families boil fresh rice with milk and jaggery in a new clay pot in the open courtyard and cheer as it overflows, shouting "Pongalo Pongal". The first offering goes to the sun. The day before, old things are discarded and homes are cleaned in Bhogi; the day after, Mattu Pongal honours cattle, which are washed, painted and garlanded, and in some villages jallikattu bull-taming events take place. Kolam designs of rice flour decorate the doorsteps, sugarcane stalks stand at the entrance and relatives visit each other on Kaanum Pongal.
Pongal dates: 2027, 2028
| Year | Pongal date |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 14 to 17 January 2027 |
| 2028 | 15 to 18 January 2028 |
What is eaten
- sakkarai pongal
- ven pongal
- sugarcane
- vadai
Traditions of Pongal
Also part of it, and being written: Thai Pongal (The main day of the festival.).
More marked on Pongal
🇮🇳 Prayagraj, India and 6 moreMakar Sankrantiमकरसङ्क्रान्ति (Makarasaṅkrānti)
A mid-winter harvest festival marking the sun's northward journey, celebrated across South and Southeast Asia with fairsFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇳 IndiaUttarayanaउत्तरायण (Uttarāyaṇa)
The Sun's six-month journey north, kept as an auspicious Hindu season and festivalSeasonal
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreRangoliरंगोली
Floor patterns of rice flour, sand or petals, drawn at the doorstep for festivalsCraft
🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram, IndiaPongala
A harvest offering of sweet rice porridge prepared by millions of women in South IndiaFestival · Sweets given and shared
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Pongal (festival)" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Makar Sankranti: Saloni Desai, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jallikattu: Mahendrabalan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rangoli: SreeramKalyan, CC0, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pongala: Sreeraj Krishna, CC BY-SA 4.0, source