Why are we celebrating Pongal on January 15 this year?

Pongal will be celebrated on Monday, January 15. For most who grew between the 1940s and 2000s, January 14 was synonymous with Pongal, with the festival advancing by a day occasionally during leap years.

But now, Pongal falls more often on January 15 than January 14. What many may not know is that there was a time when Pongal was celebrated even on January 13.

About a 100 years ago, Pongal was observed on January 13 in 1901 and 1905 and on the 14th in 1902, 1903, and 1904. In 2015, 2019, 2023, January 15 marked Pongal. In 2024 and 2027 too Pongal would be celebrated the same day but for the intervening years — 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026 — January 14 is the day.

So, what brings about this change?

Short answer: incorrect computation of the panchangam.

Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path and around its axis. Earth’s rotation axis is tilted 23.5 degrees to the plane of revolution around the Sun. Apart from these two movements, the Earth has a third movement called precessional motion. This aspect is not accounted for in the panchāngam. This is the main reason for the error in panchangam.

Want to know more? Read TV Venkateswaran's well-researched piece published by The Federal last year.

The fault in our calendars: How Pongal moved from January 14 to January 15