Celebrate Tamil Heritage

Hi readers!

Did you know that January is Tamil Heritage Month? There are about 200,000 Tamil people living in Canada and this month is a great time to appreciate and honour Tamil achievements and traditions.

January marks the Tamil holiday of Pongal, a four-day harvest festival, that is celebrated with food, new clothing, house decorating and cleaning, and prayers to the Sun. Pongal also makes the beginning of the new month called Thai, which is considered to be a very special month. It is a very important holiday so families gather to share their joy and show appreciation for the harvest. Here are some activities kids often do to celebrate. Which activity would you like to do?

• Pick out new outfits and then clean out closets and donate old clothing
• Visit a farmer’s market and learn about farming
• Help decorate the house with kolam, a traditional piece of art drawn with rice flour or chalk
• Help cook special meals
• Give gifts of sugarcane and sesame snacks to friends and family
• Fly colourful kites

Have fun, everyone!

— Jackie