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  • Category: Miscellaneous

    Is Pongal celebrated in Kerala?

    The Malayalis or Keralites in Chennai, as a group are generally not so familiar with their own "God's own country". Most of them have settled here since generations and call Chennai their home city.

    Is Pongal or its equivalent celebrated in Kerala? If yes, what shape does it take? Or is it only Onam for them?
  • #768740
    I think Pongal is also one of the most important festivals in Kerala. Pongal is the time to celebrate as all the farmers receive their crops in their houses. The Pongal festival will be for four days consisting of Bhogi Pongal, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kanum Pongal. Each day will have its own rituals and celebrations. This festival falls in the month of January and stretches for four days.
    Like in any other state, there also people will clean their houses before the festival comes, Wear new clothes on the festival day. Have special lunch. We will see Rangoli in front of all most all the houses. During this festival, the people of Kerala boil milk in a clay pot. They believe that this will attract prosperity and happiness for the family. During the festival, the Keralites worship the Sun and the rain. On the third day, they worship animals like Oxes and other animals that are useful for cultivation.
    It is the same almost like what Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh people do for this festival.

    drrao
    always confident

  • #768797
    Pongal is not celebrated in Kerala as it is celebrated in Tamil Nadu. The Kerala Tamil Iyers (who celebrate both Tamil and Kerala festivals generally) celebrate Pongal, but not as elaborately a in TN. They decorate their homes and front yard with Kolam(Rangoli) and cook Ven Pongal and Sarkarai Pongal and do poojas and nivedyam.
    The Gujarati community /North Indians also celebrate it as in Gujarat and North India.

    However, in Kerala like every state in India, it is observed and celebrated as an auspicious day-Makara Sankranti-and as a harbinger of good times. Most temples have special functions and rituals, especially Ayyappa temples. People visit temples and make offerings.
    In the olden days, like TN, in Kerala also it used to be the season of new harvest(Makara Koythu). But of late that has lost relevance. Now it is more of a religious event than celebration festival.

    However similar to Pongal offering ritual is observed in some temples in Kerala( at different specified days as per local temple traditions). It is called Pongaala and the most popular on is the Aattukaal Bhagavathy temple Pongaala (Trivandrum)

  • #768798
    Kerala is almost a Replicate of TN. But I don't think Kerala will celebrate Pongal. The only two states that Pongal/Sankranti are AP and TN.
    Based on the situation, humans in the society should follow an abelian group (Closure, Associative, Identity, Inverse, and Commutative)-- Bhushan


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