Ponggal the Festival of Thanksgiving
The Ponggal celebration took place at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary(NBVM) on the 20th January from 6.30 am to 12 noon. It began with the boiling of the milk at the entrance of the church and as soon as the milk overflowed symbolizing joy and happiness, the crowd cheered ponggal 3 times and the mass began presided by Rev. Fr. Dom.
In his homily, Fr. Dom explained the significance of the Ponggal festival. The church celebrates the Thai Ponggal which is the harvest festival, thanking God for the abundance. He said that everything that is essential, fresh air, rain, sunlight are all from our divine creator. Without these elements we will not have food-our basic necessity. There are other two Ponggals that are celebrated culturally which are Mattu Ponggal (in appreciation of cows) and Kannu Ponggal ( in appreciation of youth). Although Ponggal is a cultural celebration by Tamils but nevertheless many other races also thank God for their harvest in their own way. What is more important for us to understand today is that the Eucharistic celebration is also a celebration of thanksgiving, for God gave his son to us as a lamb to be slain for our sins. This is the greatest gift God has given to us.
After mass, breakfast was provided and the main Ponggal competition began with respective BECs decorating pots and cooking the Ponggal rice. The winners were based on creativity, deco, cultural dressing and taste of Ponggal rice. As for kins aged 7 and below, the competition was eating the vadai with their hands tied to the back. As for age group 8 and above, they were challenged to walk on bricks. As for the youth the feat was weaving coconut leaves. The women were put to test on their catwalk when they had to carry a pot filled with water on their head without spilling. The men were called to break pots blindfolded and Rev. Fr. Louis Loi won the match. The games and festival was organized by the Tamil apostolate and funded by the parish.
