Thai Pongal (Harvest Festival)

In Malaysia, Thai Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated according to the Hindu calendar. Tamils celebrate this festival around the second week of January. While it is still dark, farmers rise and cook some of the newly harvested grain. Pongal is the presentation of the cooked harvested grain to the sun at dawn. The farmers worship the sun because their crops depend on the sun. Prayers are also conducted in the temples and in the homes on a small scale. However, for urban families, this ritual has been adapted to their own living conditions. Here the family rises, bathes and gets dressed before dawn. This is done without the use of any form of light. When everyone is ready in their best clothes, they assemble around a display of fruits and flowers. Then they lit the lamps. The vision of natural beauty must be the first sight in the morning. A vegetarian breakfast is enjoyed by all members of the family.