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Las Vegas recognises “Attakul Pongala Festival Day”
The mayor has issued a proclamation due to the growing importance of the female centric festival in the state.
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Las Vegas officially marks February 25 as “Attakul Pongala Festival Day” / Image: Wikipedia
The Mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, proclaimed February 25 as “Attakul Pongala Festival Day” in recognition of the ten-day religious festival celebrated by the Hindu community with roots in Kerala, India.
In the proclamation, the mayor highlighted that an estimated 600,000 people from the Indian state of Kerala have migrated to the US over the past 60 years and about 300 Kerala Hindu families currently live in the city of Las Vegas, Clark County, State of Nevada.
“During the month of February, the Kerala Hindu community in Las Vegas and across our nation collectively celebrates its heritage by focussing on its culture and the diverse spiritual traditions rooted in India,” the proclamation read.
We are very excited to share that the City of Las Vegas and @mayoroflasvegas Carolyn Goodman issued a proclamation recognizing today (Feb 25, 2024) as "Attakul Pongala Festival Day!" We thank them for the recognizing the importance of this woman-centric #Hindufestival and the… https://t.co/L5iAgTNgpg pic.twitter.com/OLli17Qa7r
— CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) (@CoHNAOfficial) February 25, 2024
“The Attakul Pongala festival includes women of all faiths, races and ethnicities from around the world and highlights the importance of women to strong communities, societies and nations,” it added.
Malayali women celebrate the ten-day festival at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala. On the ninth day of the festival they prepare pongala (dish) made of rice in earthen pots and offer it to the Attukal Amma (goddess of the temple).
The pongala preparation starts with the ritual called ‘Aduppuvettu’, which refers to the ceremonial lighting of the pongala hearth (called Pandarayaduppu) placed inside the temple by the chief priest. The festival is marked as the largest annual gathering of women by the Guinness World Records.
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