Tamil Calendar 2020: Tamil Festivals, Holidays

By Tamil Calendar 2020, you will get to know about the significant festivals and their dates falling this year. Incredible India is incomplete without their Southern states. The culture and festivals of Southern India are entirely peculiar from Northern India. Tamil Nadu owes an utterly different language and culture. It is a province which inhales and exhale the nature’s tone and thus leaves a glance of nature behind its festivals and rituals as well. Today we will discuss the important festivals and rituals of Tamil Nadu.

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Tamil Calendar 2020: Important Dates and Holidays

Tamil Calendar 2020: Symbolic Festivals of Tamil Nadu

The versatile culture of Tamil Nadu even greets the New Year in its significant manner. As mentioned in Tamil Calendar 2020 Some festivals of Southern India may vary from North India, but there are some festivals which are celebrated in both the regions. Such as, In North India, people celebrate Makar Sankranti and Lohri as harvesting festivals. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, people celebrate Pongal as their harvesting festival. Here are some of the illustrative festivals of Tamil Nadu.

PUTHANDU 2020

This festival is also known as the Tamil New Year or the first festival of the Tamil Calendar 2020. As per the Gregorian calendar, it is observed on the 14th April every year. In Northern India, it is celebrated as Baisakhi. On this auspicious day, Tamilians embrace each other by saying “Putanttu Valthukkal” which identify as “Happy New Year”. Houses are decorated with colourful flowers and mango leaves. People clean up their houses and perform special pooja at home. For Tamilians, this festival is equivalent to a family occasion, as they meet and greet with their near and dear ones. They organise a vegetarian lunch feast for their close relatives and friends as well. Apart from Tamil Nadu, this festival is celebrated in foreign countries as well, such as Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Mauritius.

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PONGAL 2020

According to the Tamil Calendar 2020, this harvest festival is celebrated for four long days between 14th to 17th Jan every year. This day specifically signifies the six-day long journey of Sun towards the North. This is why Pongal is also known as Uttarayan. In astrological terms, on this day, Sun transit to the tenth house of Capricorn. This day is also known as Makar Sankranti in most of the Northern states. Pongal, which is also a rice dish, is made on this day. This specific dish contains milk, rice, cardamom, raisins and cashew nut. Apart from sweet Pongal, people also cook salty Pongal and serve it on a banana leaf. All four days of Pongal are Bhogi Pongal, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal.

NATYANJALI DANCE FESTIVAL 2020

According to Tamil Calendar 2020, the five-day long dance festival is observed to pay gratitude to Lord Nataraja by Tamilians. This authentic festival is celebrated during Mahashivratri. A huge group of dancers gather during this festival and showcase their performances. From past few years, Natyanjali dance festival is organised by the Tourism Department of Tamil Nadu. People visit from different states and countries to witness this beautiful occasion. If you ever visit the state during this time, do not forget to attend this festival.

THAIPUSAM 2020

This specific festival is also known as Thaipooyam, which is celebrated by the people of Tamil and Malayalam community. People usually celebrate this day during the month of January and February on a full moon day as mentioned in Tamil Calendar 2020. In Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Singapore, this festival is marked as a national holiday. Tamilians celebrated the day of Thaipusam as the birthday of Lord Subramanya. There are several historical stories related to this festival. People believe that Lord Murugan was born on this day. That’s why natives of Tamil Nadu celebrate this day as the birthday of their Lord Murugan.

THIRUVAIYARU FESTIVAL 2020

Apart from a dance festival, people of Tamil Nadu also celebrate a music festival which is widely known as Thiruvaiyaru festival. There was a famous music composer and saint of Tamil Nadu namely Thyagaraja. People celebrate this festival in the remembrance of Great Thyagaraja. He took samadhi in Cauvery river, which is why every year during the month of January (As mentioned in Tamil Calendar 2020), people come together at the river’s bank and celebrate the day.

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KARTHIGAI DEEPAM 2020

According to the Tamil Calendar 2020, Karthigai Deepam falls every year between the months of November and December. This time of the month also known as Karthik in the Hindu religion. Karthigai Deepam is a festival of lights, which is celebrated by the Tamil-Hindu community of Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Kerala. People believe that on this auspicious day, Lord Shiva visited the Thiruvannamalai hills. This day of the year is known to be one of the precious occasions for every Tamil family. People also organise a fair. The rituals, language and cultures of Tamil Nadu are fascinating and attractive to the people of other regions.

We hope this article provides you with all the significant knowledge of Tamil festivals and rituals.