Pongal 2027: The First Day, Bhogi, and the Full Four Day Calendar
Pongal 2027 begins with Bhogi on Thursday, 14 January and ends with Kaanum Pongal on Sunday, 17 January. The main day, Thai Pongal, falls on Friday, 15 January 2027.
It is the Tamil harvest festival, and unlike most Indian festivals it follows the solar calendar, not the lunar one, which is why it lands on nearly the same dates every year. It marks the start of the Tamil month of Thai and the sun's northward turn, Uttarayana.
Pongal 2027 four day calendar
Day | Date (2027) | What happens |
Bhogi Pongal | Thursday, 14 January | The first day. Old and unused things are discarded and burnt in a bonfire. Homes are cleaned and repainted. Indra is honoured for the rains. |
Thai Pongal | Friday, 15 January | The main day. The Pongal dish is cooked outdoors in a new pot and allowed to boil over. Surya is worshipped. |
Mattu Pongal | Saturday, 16 January | Cattle are bathed, their horns painted, garlanded and fed. Jallikattu is held in parts of Tamil Nadu. |
Kaanum Pongal | Sunday, 17 January | Families visit each other and go out together. Sisters pray for their brothers' wellbeing. |
A note on the dates. Drik Panchang places Thai Pongal on 15 January 2027 alongside Makar Sankranti, while some calendars list Makar Sankranti on 14 January. The Sankranti moment falls near the boundary between the two days, which is what causes the variation. Tamil Nadu government holiday notifications are the practical reference, and they are published in advance.
Bhogi, the first day, in detail
Bhogi is the clearing out day, and it has a genuine logic to it. The harvest is in, the old cycle is finished, and the house is emptied of what is no longer needed before the new year begins.
• The Bhogi bonfire is lit at dawn using old mats, brooms, wooden items and agricultural waste. Households gather around it.
• Homes are cleaned thoroughly, walls whitewashed or painted, and repairs finished before Thai Pongal.
• Bhogi Pallu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: a mix of regi pandu, meaning jujube fruit, flower petals, coins and sugarcane is poured over young children's heads to protect them.
• Kolam is drawn at the entrance with rice flour, and grows more elaborate each of the four days.
• Indra is thanked for the rain that made the harvest possible.
A word on the bonfire. In Chennai and other cities, air quality drops sharply on Bhogi morning because of tyres and plastics being burnt, and there are flight delays at Chennai airport most years due to smoke. Local authorities issue advisories against burning anything other than natural material, which is what the tradition actually calls for.
Thai Pongal, the main day
The dish gives the festival its name. Pongal comes from the Tamil word pongu, meaning to boil over, and the boiling over is the point of the ritual, not an accident.
1. A new clay pot is decorated with turmeric plant and sugarcane leaves tied around the rim.
2. Freshly harvested rice is boiled with milk and jaggery, outdoors, facing east, at sunrise.
3. When the milk rises and spills over the rim, the family calls out Pongalo Pongal. The overflow is the sign of abundance.
4. Cashews, raisins, ghee and cardamom are added, and the dish is first offered to Surya, then served on banana leaves.
5. Sugarcane is eaten, and new clothes are worn.
Sakkarai Pongal is the sweet version made with jaggery. Ven Pongal is the savoury one, made with moong dal, pepper, cumin and ginger, and eaten with sambar and coconut chutney.
Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal
Mattu Pongal honours cattle, without which the harvest would not exist. Cows and bulls are washed, their horns painted and capped with metal, garlands and bells put on, and they are fed pongal. In parts of Tamil Nadu, Jallikattu is held on this day, a bull taming event that is legally regulated after a long court battle and now conducted under strict rules at approved venues such as Alanganallur, Palamedu and Avaniyapuram.
Kaanum Pongal is the visiting day. Families go to the beach, to parks, or to relatives' homes. Sisters place coloured rice on turmeric leaves and pray for their brothers, a custom called Kanu Pidi.
The same festival elsewhere in India
Region | Name | How it differs |
Punjab | Lohri and Maghi | Bonfire on the eve, with rewri, gajak and popcorn thrown into the fire. Lohri is 13 January 2027. |
North India | Makar Sankranti | Ritual bath in the Ganga, til and gur sweets, and kite flying in Gujarat and Rajasthan. |
Assam | Magh Bihu | Community feasts and the burning of the meji, a temporary bamboo and thatch structure. |
Andhra and Telangana | Sankranti | Four days, with Bhogi, Sankranti, Kanuma and Mukkanuma. Rangoli and cockfights in rural areas. |
Karnataka | Suggi Habba | Ellu Bella, a mix of sesame, jaggery, groundnut and coconut, exchanged between homes. |
Frequently asked questions about Pongal 2027
Q. What is the first day of Pongal called?
A. Bhogi Pongal. In 2027 it falls on Thursday, 14 January. Old items are discarded and burnt, homes are cleaned, and Indra is honoured.
Q. When is Pongal 2027?
A. Thursday, 14 January to Sunday, 17 January 2027. Thai Pongal, the main day, is Friday, 15 January.
Q. Why does the Pongal dish have to boil over?
A. The overflow is the whole point. Pongu means to boil over, and the milk spilling past the rim of the pot is read as a sign of abundance for the year ahead.
Q. Why does Pongal fall on nearly the same date every year?
A. Because it follows the solar calendar rather than the lunar one. It is tied to the sun entering Capricorn, which happens around 14 or 15 January each year.
Q. What is the difference between Sakkarai Pongal and Ven Pongal?
A. Sakkarai Pongal is sweet, made with jaggery, ghee, cashews and cardamom. Ven Pongal is savoury, made with moong dal, black pepper, cumin and ginger.
Q. Is Pongal the same as Makar Sankranti?
A. They fall on the same day and both mark the sun's northward turn, but the observances differ. Pongal is a four day Tamil harvest festival, while Makar Sankranti in the north centres on a river bath, til sweets and kite flying.
Q. Is Jallikattu held during Pongal?
A. Yes, on Mattu Pongal, 16 January 2027, at approved venues in Tamil Nadu under regulated conditions following the Supreme Court judgment upholding the state law.
