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Pongal/Lohri

Contest

We will have Pongal Picture Coloring Contest. We will provide three coloring pages and students will submit one on or before January 25. The winners will be announced on January 25 during Pongal celebration.

Description

  1. Celebrate the end of winter season.
  2. Celebrate the abundance of harvest.
  3. Coincide with Makarsankranti, Uttarayan. People offer thousands of their colorful oblations to the Sun in the form of beautiful kites.
  4. Elsewhere in India, there is also kite flying for example, in Gujarat and Andhra. There is also the Jahangir Dance in Punjab and the Ganga Sagar Mela in Bengal.
PongalLohri
Pongal is celebrated in South India.Lohri is celebrated in North India.
It is the most popular thanksgiving or Harvest festival; Pongal means the "boiling over" of milk and rice (also known as ‘doodhpaak’).It is an extremely popular agricultural festival celebrated by the Punjabis and Haryanvis. Lohri night is meant to be the longest night of the year.
Pongal is traditionally dedicated to the Sun God Surya. People decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and make decorative patterns on the floor using rice flour (also known as ‘rangoli’ or ‘kolam’).Millions of people immerse themselves in rivers in North India and offer prayers to the Sun God. People take peanuts, rewri, flour, butter and various food items to places of religious worship to thank God for a good harvest. This ritual is performed for thanking the Sun God and seeking his continued protection.
It is considered to be a good sign to watch the milk boil over as it connotes good luck and prosperity. The newly cooked rice is traditionally offered to the Sun God at sunrise to demonstrate gratitude for the harvest. It is later served to the people present in the house for the ceremony. The bonfire is lit at sunset in the main village square. People toss sesame seeds, gur, sugar-candy and rewaries on the bonfire, sit around it, sing and dance till the fire dies out. Till, peanuts, popcorn and other food items are also thrown into the fire.
Special foods that are eaten: sugar cane, sweetened rice, milk and jaggery. During the day, children go from door to door singing folk songs. These children are given sweets and savories, and occasionally, money. Turning them back empty-handed is regarded inauspicious (kind of like Halloween).
The family elders present gifts to the young.Children collect gifts of til, gachchak, crystal sugar, gur (jaggery), moongphali (peanuts) and phuliya or popcorn. These collections are known as Lohri.
People fly kites and they prepare savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, paayasam, visit each other and exchange greetings.
  • Singing and dancing form an intrinsic part of the celebrations.
  • People wear their brightest clothes and come to dance the bhangra and gidda to the beat of the dhol. Punjabi songs are sung, and everybody rejoices.
  • Sarson da saag and makki di roti is usually served as the main course at a Lohri dinner.
  • Lohri is a great occasion that holds great importance for farmers.
  • However, people residing in urban areas also celebrate Lohri, as this festival provides the opportunity to interact with family and friends.
Description

Color pages

  1. One
  2. Two
  3. Three
  4. six
Color Page 1
Color Page 2
Color Page 3
Coloring Page 4
Coloring Page 5
Color Page 6
Pongal and Lohri - Description
Lohri Song
Pongal Song