Pongal dates
When Pongal falls in 2027, 2028 and 2029: Thai Pongal by the Tamil sunset rule at Chennai, with Bhogi, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Thai Pongal is in 89 days. In 2027, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday, 14 January, after Chennai’s sunset at 17:59, so Tai begins at the next sunrise, on Friday, 15 January.
Pongal dates, 2027 to 2029
Reckoned at Chennai for every city. The four days as a set are popular practice.| Year | Bhogi | Thai Pongal | Mattu Pongal | Kaanum Pongal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pongal 2027 | Thu 14 Jan | Fri 15 Jan | Sat 16 Jan | Sun 17 Jan |
| Pongal 2028 | Fri 14 Jan | Sat 15 Jan | Sun 16 Jan | Mon 17 Jan |
| Pongal 2029 | Sat 13 Jan | Sun 14 Jan | Mon 15 Jan | Tue 16 Jan |
Thai Pongal is the first day of the Tamil solar month of Tai, the Sun’s stay in sidereal Makara. By the Tamil rule, an ingress between sunrise and sunset begins the month that day, and an ingress after sunset or before dawn begins it at the next sunrise. The Indian Calendar, Art. 28, p. 12
This is also the southern usage for the Makara day. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 326; Dharmasindhu p. 85
Popular practice: the pot boiling over, sugarcane and kolam; Bhogi’s bonfire, Kanu, Jallikattu and Thiruvalluvar Day.
Questions
The Tamil rule from Sewell and Dikshit’s The Indian Calendar (1896), with Warren’s Kala Sankalita (1825) for Mattu Pongal.
When is Pongal?
Thai Pongal, reckoned at Chennai for every city: Friday, 15 January 2027, Saturday, 15 January 2028 and Sunday, 14 January 2029. The Indian Calendar, Art. 28, p. 12
How is the Pongal date fixed?
By the Tamil rule for the solar months: when the Sun enters sidereal Makara between sunrise and sunset, the month of Tai begins that day, and when it enters after sunset or before dawn, at the next sunrise. Thai Pongal is the first day of Tai, reckoned at Chennai for every city. The Indian Calendar, Art. 28, p. 12
Why do some years show a second day?
In years when the Sun enters Makara by day but less than three hours before Chennai’s sunset, Pongal is also commonly kept on the next day, as it was on 15 January in 2026. That is popular practice, and the three hours are our reading.
What are Bhogi, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal?
Bhogi is the day before Thai Pongal and Kaanum Pongal the day after Mattu Pongal; both are popular practice. Mattu Pongal, the day after Thai Pongal, is the worship of the cattle, which Warren describes. Kala Sankalita p. 402
How the days are found
Read the methodology- The day
- The first day of Tai: the day of the Makara ingress when it comes before Chennai’s sunset, and the next day when it comes after sunset or before dawn (The Indian Calendar, Art. 28, p. 12). One date for every city.
- Second day
- When the ingress comes by day but less than three hours before sunset, the next day is shown as popular practice; the three hours are our reading.
- The four days
- Bhogi the day before, Mattu Pongal the day after and Kaanum Pongal two days after, counted from Thai Pongal.
- No times
- No time is given for setting the pot, and no Pongal muhurat.
Sunrise and sunset at the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction · Lahiri ayanamsa · Indian time (IST), reckoned at Chennai for every city · Swiss Ephemeris · Method