Pongal or Thai Pongal is a Hindu harvest festival celebrated across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Sri Lanka. The festivities span multiple days. Its date is decided on the basis of when the earth completes one full circle around the sun. This year, it will be celebrated on January 15.
The same festival is known by other names in different parts of India, including Lohri (Punjab), Makar Sankranti (Uttar Pradesh), Uttarayan (Gujarat), Makara Chaula (Odisha), and Maghi Sankrant (Haryana and Maharashtra) among others.
The significance of celebrating the festival is to pay your gratitude to the Sun God for a good harvest. Celebrations go on for about four days with each day given a separate name–Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kanum Pongal.
According to mythical tales, Lord Shiva sent Nandi to the earth to request humans to massage their bodies with oil and take a bath every day and eat once a month.
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However, Nandi mixed the two sentences and conveyed that humans should eat every day and do an oil massage and take bath once a month. This enraged God, who asked Nandi to forever stay on the earth and help humans grow and produce more food.
Hence, wherever farmers celebrate the harvest festival, you will find them praying to the bull who helps them plough the farm.
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