Pongal

When: Saturday, February 7, 2009

Where: Main Mall

Time: 2-5 pm

 

Pongal is a South Indian harvest festival equivalent to Thanksgiving which is dated to be over 2,000 years old. It is also celebrated throughout India but under different names.  On this day families, watch a pot of rice with fresh milk and jaggery (a sugar) boil over, which denotes the future prosperity of the family. In North India, the festival is traditionally celebrated by flying kites and eating laddu (sweets).  Pongal is celebrated at the Univerisity of Texas at Austin with an afternoon of kite-flying, games and free food.