Thai Maasam-Pongalo Pongal!!!

We celebrated Pongal with much gaiety last week, and I have an excuse for posting this blog on Pongal a week AFTER the festival got over-I thought everyone must be knowing why we celebrate this, however a query from a friend woke me up from my delusion! :-)

The Tamil month of Thai (Mid January to Mid February) is very special. There is a saying-"Thai Pirandaal Vazhi Pirakkum", meaning, "When the Thai month is born, hope is born". The previous month, Margazhi is considered inauspicious, when Shubhakaaryams like marriages are not conducted. This is because the sun is near the winter solstice, and is in the southern hemisphere. When Thai month is born, the sun crosses over to the North, and the glorious Uttaraayana Kaalam begins. Since the sun is the most visible form of divinity that sustains all life, it is worshipped by one and all. So, the transit of the sun is celebrated in many cultures. The Tamils celebrate it as Pongal/Makara Sankaranti. This harvest festival is Makar Sankranti in most of India, Bihu in Assam, Lohri in Himachal and Punjab and Uttaraayan in Gujarat/Rajasthan. It is celebrated by various communities across the world as well.
This is essentially a thanksgiving festival in which man thanks the Sun God and the cattle-who hep him grow food for sustenance. The Pongal season is marked by the arrival of fresh sugarcane (personifying sweetness), which people offer as Neivedyam to the almighty before partaking it.
The festival is celebrated by Tamils for 4 days:
Day 1: Bhogi-People clean their houses and throw away their old, unwanted goods.
Day 2: Sankaranthi-This is the Pongal/Uttaraayan day. People put Kolam (drawings on the floor with rice flour), and keep a decorated pot to cook the "Pongal"-rice with sugar. After prayers, the fire is lit and the cooked meal rises in the pot and overflows, signifying abundance, when all the family members call out "Pongalo Pongal". "Pongal" means "overflowing" in Tamil, and we all want overflowing joy in our lives, isn't it? Fresh turmeric/ginger is tied to the pot, as
these are available at this time of the year.
Day 3: Maattupongal-"Maadu" is the Tamil word for the bovines who help us throughout the year in agriculture. Bulls' horns are painted and farmers worship the bulls.
Day 4: Kaanum Pongal-People visit relatives' homes, and get blessings and a token gift of some money from elders.
At the end of the Pongal celebrations, the Sankaranthi Ratha Kolams (Kolam in the shape of a chariot whose ropes are free) of all houses in a street are united by joining the "ropes" together, signifying the unity of the divinity within each and every one of us!