During the four-day celebration, people pass on their appreciation to the sun god for a good harvest and pray for their crops to be planted in the new year. The word ‘Pongal’ means ‘to spill’, and it is derived from the tradition of boiling rice, milk and jaggery in a pot until it begins to overflow. To celebrate the holiday, people decorate their livestock, paint their homes, and hold pious processions. Jallikattu, a traditional bull taming event, is held during Pongal.
The importance of the festival
Pongal Festival is all about letting go of the past and welcoming new things into life. On the first day of the festival, people decorate their homes and offices to welcome the deity. The second day is the main day of Pongal, which is celebrated by offering a special puja to the sun rose to get his blessing. A traditional rice dish is also prepared on this day.
On the third day of Pongal, farmers decorate and worship their livestock and finally on the fourth day people gather to celebrate a traditional meal. They wear new clothes and prepare delicacies like Medu vada, avial, Rasam, beetroot pachadi, sakkarai pongal and moong dal payasam as they are prepared during the four days of Pongal.
Why make kollam or rangoli?
There is also a tradition of making Kolam or Rangoli on this day to welcome the sun god into the house. People usually clean their homes and make beautiful works of art using dry rice flour (kolapodi), on the front door and their place of worship for the sake of longevity. Dilute rice paste, paints and even colors are used for the same. Drawing kolams signifies welcoming of Goddess Lakshmi. While most traditional kolams are indicated for drawing and require training, there are many simple kolams that you can easily draw at home. Simply get some dry rice flour, soften the rice or paint and get started. Here are 4 popular Kolam designs that you can easily make.
Square Kollam
First, make a large square of dry rice, then make another smaller square inside. In the middle make a flower and on the outer sides of the square you can make small circles and keep the flowers on them.
circular pool
Make a large circle, then draw 3-4 smaller circles inside the larger circle. Now the ions between the two circles make some designs like small circles and slashes. In the outer circle, you can make some leaves to finish your kolam.
kollam flower
Draw a small circle in the middle and draw around it simple oval leaves to draw a flower. Decorate the flowers with some real flowers and DIYs to make the kolam look beautiful.
star bowl
Make a triangle and on top of that draw another triangle upside down to remind a star. Now make an arc to join the two tips of the star. Draw similar arcs around the star to make a beautiful pattern. Put a diamond in the middle.
.