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Pongal is the harvesting festival of Tamil Nadu which also is the most important of all other festivals. The celebration of Pongal Festival goes on for four consecutive days. During this festival, people take opportunity to thank all factors like Sun God, Air, Water, and Earth for a good crop and pray for prosperity. The cook a meal called 'Pongal' which is made of rice, jaggery and milk. The content of the pot is then allowed to boil over signifying prosperity.
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Natyanjali Dance Festival may be a cultural festival but it has a religious significance as well as the festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva in the form of Nataraja, 'The Cosmic Dancer'. Held in the temple city of Chidambaram in the month of February, Natyanjali Dance Festival attracts famous and excellent classical dancers as well as young performers, for whom this is a perfect platform to showcase their talent.
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Karthigai Deepam Festival is the festival of light of Tamil Nadu. It is a nine day festival and on all days houses are illuminated with many lights and lamps. On important days between these days, beautiful processions of many deities are taken out.
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Jallikatu Bull Festival is celebrated in Tiruchirapalli on the 4th day of Pongal. People tie bundles of money on horns of violent bulls and they try to snatch it from there.
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Among the many cultural festivals that are held in Chennai, Music and Dance festival is the most famous and attracts the most number of performers as well as audiences.
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Vinayaka Chathurthi
Vinayaka Chathurthi is a festival that is celebrated in many parts of the country. However the rituals and method of celebrations are totally different in all parts. The festival dedicated to Lord Ganapathi is celebrated in the month of September – October.
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Navarathiri
The festival of Nine nights is an important part of people of Tamil Nadu as well. During these nine days Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi, and Goddess Saraswathi are worshipped for health, wealth and knowledge.
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The Festival of Deepavali symbolises the triumph of good over evil. During the festival people light up their houses with lamps and lights.
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Saraswathi Pooja
The festival is celebrated in the honour of Saraswathi - the Goddess of arts and letters. Educational institutions and academies of art naturally take a lively interest in these celebrations. The goddess is invoked in every home and hearth during the celebrations.
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Chitri Rai Festival
The festival is held in the famous Madurai
Temples and lasts for 10 days during the Tamil month of chithirai Major
attractions is the procession of lord kallazhagar otherwise known as
lord Vishnu from Azhagarkoil to give away his sister goddess Meenakshi,
in Marriage to Lord Sundareswarar.
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Mahamagam Festival
A holy festival that will bring you to Kumbakonam
once in 12 years - the temple city that gets its name from "Kumbha"
- the divine pot. Legend has it that Brahma, the Creator, held a pot
containing nectar and the seed of creation. Shiva. in the form of a
hunter shot an arrow at the pot - spilling the nectar into the famous
Mahamagam tank at the Adi Kumbeswarar Temple.
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A calendar year for Tamil Nadu is dotted with some really colorful and culturally important festivals and that too a lot of them. The traditions of olden times are still very much prevalent in Tamil Nadu and they can be seen during the festivals that are celebrated in the state. The new tourist puller for Tamil Nadu from Festival group, are the dance festivals like Natyanjali Dance Festival. It is not that they were started in recent past, but they have been promoted only now, the way they ought to be promoted.
