MAKAR SANKRANTI
Thursday | 14 Jan 2010

PONGAL
Thursday | 14 Jan 2010

REPUBLIC DAY
Tuesday | 26 Jan 2010

MAKAR SANKRANTI :- The festival of happiness and kite flying Thursday | 14 Jan 2010

Makar Sankranti falls in the month of January. Generally on the 14th of the month. • It marks the start of Sun's journey into the Northern Hemisphere (Makra rashi - Capricorn). • Makar Sankranti is considered as a very auspicious day. The day begins with taking bath in/with holy water, worshiping the Sun god, family puja and distribution of sweets. • Different parts of India celebrate this festival differently however with the same objective of welcoming happiness into one's lives and families. • In north of India, the eve of this festival is celebrated as " Lohri ". There is a bonfire lite surrounded by people dancing and singing. Families exchange gifts to the newly wed and relatives. • In western India the day begins with prayers and is followed by flying colourful kites and distribution of sweets . • In southern India women are actively involved in preparing artistic rangoli's outside their homes. Makar Sankranti in south is a three-four day festival and one of them is called "Pongal " where they cook freshly harvested rice . • The main sweet meats include til and gud laddoo's (sesame and jaggery balls), sugarcane, coconut, peanuts etc.

PONGAL :- The festival of overflowing rice and worshipping cattle. Thursday | 14 Jan 2010

Pongal falls in the month of January . • Widely celebrated in southern India, this festival is celebrated for four days. • The village folks celebrate this festival with proper rituals and ceremony. • The first day is called - " Bhogi". It is on this day people clean their houses and discard the old items. Generally their are group bonfires held in the evenings where the old items are burnt (items that can be burnt). • The second day is called - " Surya Pongal". People begin this day early by worshipping the sun. The women come out their homes to draw creative rangoli's with coloured rice flour. All family members' wear new clothes and use new utensils in their homes. The new rice is collected and is cooked. The overflowing of this rice is called " Pongal ". The overflowed rice is then cooked into a delicacy (pongal) and distributed amongst family, neighbors and relatives. This variety of Pongal is called Venpongal (ven meaning white). Children play around streets shouting " Pongal O Pongal ". The third day is called - " Matt Pongal ". This is day for worshipping the cattle force. Cows, Bulls and Bullocks are heavily decorated with specially made decorative and apparels. They are worshipped and fed with food offering or Pongal. They are marked with red kumkum on their forehead and devotional chants and songs (aarti's) are sung in their praises. The fourth day is called - " Kanu Pongal ". People visit their relatives and friends on this day. Young pay homage to the elders, sisters pray for their brothers. Young girls and other family members offer food on banana leaves or otherwise to birds. Generally token cash is given to the young in the family as a gift and blessing.

REPUBLIC DAY :- One of the most important days of Indian history. Tuesday | 26 Jan 2010

India was declared a republican country on the 26th of January 1950. • This day marks the realization of dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters of the country, who sacrificed their life for the freedom of their motherland and citizens. • This day is a national holiday and is grandly celebrated in the capital of the country i.e. New Delhi. • To highlight the importance of this day, a huge parade is organized. People from all over the country participate in it to bring out the cultural diversity of India. Groups from different states represent their culture and life style. • The President awards medals and other honors for bravery to the armed forces and other exceptional services. • The Indian flag is raised high on this day and due respect is paid to the Indian martyr's. • The entire occasion is telecasted on National Television and is viewed by Indians all across the country thus reliving the spirit of Free India.