Pongal is celebrated in South India and is a major harvest festival. The festival gets its name from pongal, a sweet dish made out of fresh rice and jaggery. The festivities go on for three days and are different each day.
Bhogi Pongal is the first day of celebrations and the whole family gets together to celebrate it. Surya Pongal is the second day of festivities and the people worship Surya, the sun god on this day. Boiled milk and jaggery are offered to the Sun God, and friends greet each other asking, "Is it boiled?" The answer: "Yes, it is."
The third day is Mattu Pongal, and cattle are worshipped on this day (cattle known as matu). Cattle are bathed, their horns polished and painted in bright colours, and garlands of flowers are placed around their necks. The pongal that has been offered to the Gods is then given to cattle and birds to eat.
Pongal is a time for spring-cleaning and burning of rubbish, symbolising the destruction of evil. Kolam, an intricate geometric or floral design is drawn on the floor in the front of each house. The freshly harvested grain is cooked for a community meal where the entire village feasts. In Madras, a chariot procession (rath yatra) is taken out from the Kandaswamy Temple. In Madurai, Tanjore and Tiruchirrapalli, Pongal is known as Jellikattu, and bundles of money are tied to the horns of bulls, and village youth try to get the money at the risk of being gored in order to show off.

Where: South India, in particular, Tamil Nadu.

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