Over-flowing of ponggal signifies abundance and prosperity

Jan 29, 2015

By Punitha Raayan, Stella Mary Moses, Francis Magimay
His grace Emeritus Archbishop Murphy Pakiam celebrated Mass for the Tamil New Year Ponggal, with Fr Stanislaus Soosaimariam as concelebrant, on Thursday 15 January at 8.00pm at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Brickfields.

Archbishop Emeritus Pakiam said that Ponggal was not a religious festival but a cultural one, celebrated by all Tamil people irrespective of their caste or creed. Thus, Christians and Hindus both celebrate Ponggal as a cultural event. In a way, Ponggal brings people together and unites them.

He elaborated that the word Ponggal means, “over-flowing”, which signifies abundance and prosperity. Tamils celebrate the New Year Ponggal as the harvest festival. We know that people celebrate the harvest festival the world over — in the eastern and western cultures, and in the northern and southern hemispheres — depending very much on the seasons when they harvest their crops. The Sabah indigenous people celebrate Hari Kaamatan as a thanksgiving to Almighty God for His abundant harvest each year and His providential care of His people. We often forget God’s blessings, but once a year at harvest time, we call to mind how much we depend upon Him.

In previous years, the parish held the Ponggal on a Sunday after the feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ to the three wise men of the East. This year, the parish observed Ponggal on the Thursday after Epiphany — a working day, and yet people came in large numbers with their families and filled the church. For the occasion, the Tamil community came dressed in their traditional attire, the women wearing bright sarees, the girls ankle length skirts, while the men were in Nehru style garb.

In his homily, the prelate spoke on the Gospel passage (Lk 12:15-21). In the parable of the good harvest, Jesus warned us about storing up treasures for ourselves, instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.

Before the Mass began, the coordinating team cooked the ponggal on a traditional open-fire in the foyer of the church. Then, they carried the cooked Ponggal rice, together with fruits, flowers, sugar cane and sweets in the offertory procession.

After Mass, Fr Stan expressed his thanks to all who helped to organize the event, and thanked the parishioners for their attendance, inspite of it being a working day. He also thanked them for their active participation and invited them to a pot-luck dinner at Dewan Fatima. The families brought plenty of food, a wide variety, enough for everyone who attended the function. Some participants said, that this Ponggal for them was a feast of love, because the delicious food that they brought from their homes was shared among all the parishioners and the clergy. Archbishop Emeritus Murphy and Fr Stan joined them in the fellowship and mingled with the crowd.