Mattu Pongal
Cattle worship — the third day of Pongal honours the bulls and cows that work the fields.
Gregorian date
16 January 2027
Saturday
Tithi
Solar (day after Thai Pongal)
Pausha (December – January)
Duration
single-day
Regional emphasis
Tamil Nadu
Significance
Tamil households bathe and decorate their cows and bulls with garlands, paint their horns, and feed them sweet Pongal. Marks gratitude to cattle for their year-round work in the fields. In some regions, Jallikattu (bull-tackling sport) is held on this day.
What happens on the day
- •Bathe and decorate cattle
- •Paint horns red/yellow
- •Feed cattle sweet Pongal
- •Jallikattu in some districts (where permitted)
About the month of Paushaपौष
Coldest month. Sun begins its northward journey at Makar Sankranti (transitioning from Pausha to Magha). Tamil Pongal and Punjabi Lohri fall around the same time.
More festivals in Pausha
Lohri
13 January 2027 · Solar (eve of Makar Sankranti)
Punjab's harvest bonfire festival — celebrated on the eve of Makar Sankranti.
Bhogi Pandigai
14 January 2027 · Solar (eve of Thai Pongal)
The first day of the Tamil 4-day Pongal harvest festival — old things go on the bonfire.
Makar Sankranti
14 January 2027 · Sun enters Capricorn (solar — not lunar tithi)
The sun begins its northward journey — the most auspicious solar event.
Thai Pongal
15 January 2027 · Sun enters Capricorn (solar)
Tamil Nadu's harvest festival — sweet pongal cooked in a new clay pot facing the rising sun.