Regional/Cultural Day
Pongal
The Tamil harvest festival is celebrated by Mauritius's Tamil community (6% of the population), and the celebration includes the cooking of pongal (a sweet rice pudding cooked in a clay pot until it overflows), the decoration of the house with kolam (rice flour patterns on the floor), and the offering of the pongal to the sun god Surya. The pongal is cooked in a clay pot in the courtyard, and the moment it overflows is the most auspicious moment of the year. The overflow symbolizes abundance and prosperity, and the family shouts "Pongalo Pongal!" when the pot overflows.
