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Hindu Festival · 2026 · All Years Guide

Pongal 2026

Tamil four-day harvest festival honoring the sun god.

Gregorian dateJanuary 14, 2026
Day of weekWednesday
PanchangFirst day of Tamil Thai month
ReligionHinduism

In 2026, Pongal falls on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Regional panchang authorities — including the Vakya, Drik, and Surya Siddhanta traditions — may calculate the precise tithi differently, with some communities observing the festival one day earlier or later than the date shown.

Significance of Pongal

Pongal is the Tamil harvest festival celebrated over four days to mark the end of the winter harvest season, the worship of the sun god Surya, and the start of the Tamil month of Thai. The festival shares its date with Makar Sankranti and the entry of the sun into Capricorn, marking the beginning of Uttarayana — the auspicious six-month northward solar journey. The name Pongal literally means "boiling over" and refers to the central ritual of cooking freshly harvested rice with milk, jaggery, cardamom, ghee, and cashews in a clay pot at sunrise on the second day until it overflows the rim — a symbolic prayer for prosperity, abundance, and overflowing blessings.

Traditions and Observances

Day one is Bhogi, when households dispose of old possessions in a bonfire to symbolize the burning away of the past, clean and decorate their homes, and apply fresh whitewash to outer walls. Day two is Thai Pongal — the main festival day — when families cook the eponymous Pongal dish in their courtyards as the sun rises, decorate clay pots with turmeric leaves, draw kolam designs in rice flour at the doorway, and offer the first portion of Pongal to Surya. Day three is Mattu Pongal, dedicated to the worship of cattle, who are bathed, painted with bright colors, garlanded with flowers, and fed special meals; some villages organize the celebrated Jallikattu bull-taming sport. Day four is Kaanum Pongal, when families gather for picnics, visit relatives, and exchange gifts.

Pongal 2026 — At a Glance

If you are planning travel, scheduling community events, requesting time off work, or simply marking your family calendar for 2026, the table below summarises every key detail for Pongal this year, alongside the surrounding observances on either side of the festival in the Hindu lunar calendar.

Detail2026
Gregorian dateJanuary 14, 2026
Day of weekWednesday
Panchang referenceFirst day of Tamil Thai month
TraditionHinduism (regional variations across panchang traditions)

Regional Observance

Tamil Nadu observes Pongal as a state festival with public holidays for all four days, government-sponsored cultural programs, and Jallikattu events licensed under strict animal welfare guidelines. Puducherry, Karnataka's Tamil regions, Kerala, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Singapore, and Malaysia's Tamil diaspora communities observe Pongal with the same fervor. Sri Lankan Thai Pongal is a public holiday, with Hindu and Tamil Catholic families both participating. The Indian government's Sankranti tour has expanded Pongal cultural exchanges to include international performances of bharatanatyam dance and carnatic music dedicated to Surya.

Pongal Across the Years 2024–2030

The Islamic Hijri calendar is a purely lunar calendar of approximately 354 days, so its observances drift forward by roughly 10–11 days each Gregorian year. The Hindu lunar calendar uses periodic intercalary months (adhik maas) that keep festivals broadly anchored to the seasons. The table below shows the Gregorian date of Pongal across every year HijriHub covers, allowing you to plan multi-year commemorations, anniversaries, or research at a glance.

YearGregorian dateDay
2024January 15, 2024Monday
2025January 14, 2025Tuesday
2026January 14, 2026Wednesday
2027January 14, 2027Thursday
2028January 15, 2028Saturday
2029January 14, 2029Sunday
2030January 14, 2030Monday

How HijriHub calculates Pongal 2026

Our Hindu festival dates are compiled from the Drik Panchang almanac authority, cross-checked against regional panchang publications including the Mahesh Dharmik Panchang and the Indian government's National Calendar. For festivals tied to specific tithis, nakshatras, or yogas, the date listed corresponds to the day on which the festival is most widely observed in North India under the Drik tradition. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of Karnataka follow the Vakya tradition that may shift the observance by a day. Bengal's Vishuddha Siddhanta and the lunisolar calendars of Maharashtra and Gujarat occasionally differ. Always confirm with your family priest or local temple before finalising ritual plans.

Other Years

Other Holidays in January 2026