All You Need To Know About Bhogi Pongal 2023: Rituals, Timings And Significance

The first day of Pongal, one of India’s popular celebrations, is known as Bhogi. Pongal 2023 is a four-day harvest celebration that will start on January 14 and ends on January 18. The Bhogi Festival, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal are among the four-day festivities. According to the Tamil calendar, Bhogi takes place on January 14.

This harvest festival, which is also known as Pedda Panduga in a few states, is mainly observed in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. People pray to Lord Indra, the God of rain and clouds, during the festival of Bhogi in order to get his blessings for a bountiful crop and prosperity.

Timings of Bhogi Pongal 2023

As mentioned in Drik Panchang, Bhogi Pongal will be celebrated on January 14, 2023, Saturday at 8:57 PM.

Rituals

On this day, people dump outdated, useless products and abandoned goods that are no longer useful. People take an early bath and put on new traditional clothing as part of the Bhogi ritual. The front of the houses are adorned with colourful rangoli and pumpkin flowers, known as kolam. Fresh cow dung or gobbemma is also used to embellish rangoli patterns. On top of the décor, one may also keep clay lights. Bhogi Mantalu is another important custom that is practised on the first day of Pongal. In order to carry it out, bonfires made of wood and other solid fuels are lit.

Significance

On the eve before Pongal, participants gather to create a fire out of wood and abandoned or unused items, then light it ablaze. Women dressed in new attire perform songs and give sacrifices to the Sun God and Mother Earth with sandalwood paste and kumkum in the bonfires, and they also burn agricultural debris. Burning trash is a symbolic way of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.

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