Guest guest Posted January 10, 2004 Report Share Posted January 10, 2004 HAPPY PONGAL WISHES AND SANKRANTI WISHES - JAN 14TH 2004 Samratchana at Ramrajya celebrates Pongal on the days 14th, 15th ,16th-jan 2004. There is a Mandala pooja for Swamy Iyyapan on 14th Jan 2004. Pongal is an important festival in India, and we pray to the Sun God on this occasion. In karnataka & Andra Pradesh, it is known as Sankaranthi. it is called Baisakhi in Punjab state. The sun is very powerful and helps in the growth of the paddy and other plantations. So this festival is very important for farmers and so it is celebrated in a grand manner in villages. The house is cleaned, and all maintanance jobs are done before this festival. During the four day festival, different varieties of Rangoli are drawn in front of the houses early in the morning. BhogiThe celebrations start on the last day of Margazhi, which is known as "Bhogi". On this day, we get up very early in the morning, take head bath. We place all the trash in front of the house and inflame it. We dispose old and useless things from our house and replace with new ones. Then we draw rangoli in front of the houses. Pongal: Reaping of paddy is done. Using the new rice, the recipe "pongal" is made and offered to God. The Pongal is cooked in a new pot , decorated tastefully . The sun God moves in chariot driven by seven horses.A picture of the chariot is drawn in an open space when the sun arrives. A small sun is drawn at the center of the chariot. We place turmeric sprigs and sugarcane in the pooja and pooja is done onto the chariot. Then the dishes are offered to God. Once the pooja is over, everyone in the house takes a small amount of Pongal and sprinkles all over the house, saying "Pongalo Pongal". This is done as a prayer to God to bless their houses. Maatu Pongal- for cows ( maadu - cow in tamil) The next day is maattu Pongal - pongal for the cows. Cows are worshipped on this day. Milk suppliers decorate the cows. They paint the horns, apply colours and tie clothes on the cows. Then they take the cows to all the houses. - Kaanum PongalPeople go out for places and enjoy this day. This is a day to spend time and entertainment outside. In different parts of India, the Sankranti is celebrated very differently. On the Western parts, the emphasis is on exchanging Til-Gul which is a specialty of Konkani/Marathi women. It is sugar coated seeds and nuts of different colors prepared by the housewives. In some other parts, exchange a mixture of teel, jaggery, fried gram, groundnuts (peanuts) which is called "Ellu Bella.". Along with sweets, flowers, bangles, dry fruits, sugarcane, sugar cadies are also exchanged. In the old Mysore region in Karnataka, people decorate their houses and cattle. They also worship their crop and cattle. As part of the celebration they sing and dance, and look forward for flowering of the trees and singing of birds. In Hindu belief, a person dying on this auspicious day directly goes to the heaven. Bhishma, an elder in the epic of Mahabharata, is said to have waited for this day to breathe his last. It is also on this day every twelve years the Great Kumbh-Mela is held at Prayag. Here is a link for recipes to prepare on Pongal & Sankranthi days:http://www.indiatastes.com/festivals/pongal2000/recipes.shtml Pongaloa...........Pongal.....; Pongaloa........Pongal.!!! Iniya Pongal Nal Vaazhthukkal!!!- Happy Pongal wishes & Sankranthi wishes!! Regards Hema malini Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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