Thai Pongal is the first day of the Tamil month of Thai and the festival Tamils everywhere count as their own. In the open courtyard, facing the rising Sun, new rice is boiled with milk and jaggery in a new pot tied with turmeric and sugarcane. When the milk rises and spills, the family calls out "Pongalo Pongal!". It is a thanksgiving to the Sun, the land and the cattle.
The story
Pongal means "to boil over", and the overflowing is the point: a wish that the year's plenty should exceed the pot. The festival is very old; the Sangam poems speak of Thai Niradal, the bath of the month of Thai, and an inscription of the Chola period records land given to a temple for the Pongal offering.
Unlike most festivals it has no story of gods and demons. It marks the Sun's turn north and the end of the paddy harvest, and it is kept by Tamils of every community.
தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்
When Thai is born, a way is born
A Tamil proverb: with the new month, things will open up
How it is kept
- The kolamA large kolam is drawn in rice flour where the pot will stand, often with the Sun at its centre.
- The potA new clay or brass pot is tied with fresh turmeric and ginger plants. Milk is boiled first and allowed to spill; then the rice goes in.
- Sakkarai pongal and ven pongalThe sweet one with jaggery, ghee, cashew and raisins; the savoury one with pepper and cumin. Both are offered to the Sun on banana leaves with sugarcane.
- New clothesWorn by the whole family, after an oil bath.
- "Paal pongitta?"The day's greeting: has the milk boiled over?
Why this date
Thai Pongal is the first day of the solar month of Thai. The month begins on the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn), if that happens before sunset; otherwise on the next day. It falls on 14 or 15 January.
Thai Pongal in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday | |
| 2027 | Friday | |
| 2028 | Saturday | |
| 2029 | Sunday | |
| 2030 | Monday | |
| 2031 | Wednesday |
More Tamil festivals
14 JanuaryBhogiபோகி
16 JanuaryMattu Pongalமாட்டுப் பொங்கல்
23 JanuaryThai Pusamதைப்பூசம்
20 December 2026Vaikuntha Ekadasiவைகுண்ட ஏகாதசி
15 December 2026Subrahmanya Sashtiசுப்ரமண்ய சஷ்டி
13 FebruaryRatha Saptamiரத சப்தமி
Where to see Thai Pongal
In Tamil Nadu
- MaduraiTamil NaduPongal in the villages around the city is the picture most Tamils carry of the festival, and the Meenakshi temple keeps the Thai festival through the month.
- ThanjavurTamil NaduThe rice bowl of the Kaveri delta, where the harvest being celebrated was actually grown.
- Mylapore, ChennaiTamil NaduThe city's temple quarter, with kolams the length of every street.
Across India
- SabarimalaKeralaThe pilgrim season ends on the same day with Makaravilakku.
- AhmedabadGujaratUttarayan, the same solar turn kept with kites.
- GangasagarWest BengalThe great bathing fair where the Ganga meets the sea.