President Sirisena, in his message in lieu of Thai Pongal, said the festival rekindled the contract between man and nature, and epitomized human gratefulness.
The full text of the message is reproduced below:
‘Since the dawn of civilization, humanity’s devotion to the sun that symbolizes the wholeness of nature has remained intact.
From among the many traditional festival and rituals of Hindus, in veneration of the sun, Thai Pongal is the foremost festival that marks the supreme status the Hindus have bestowed upon the sun throughout history.
Thai Pongal is rendered colourful by the fact that it allows us to show our gratitude to nature and renew our hopes devotedly.
Depicting the broad span of the Hindus culture evident, the devotees mark Thai Pongal as an occasion to be thankful, not only to the sun for giving us warmth, timely rain and bountiful harvests, but also to the cattle by feasting of cows, for providing us with milk.
Festivals such as these rekindle the contract between man and the gifts of nature, while epitomizing the enormity of the human gratefulness.
As the world look forward to move in the direction of sustainability, the message transmitted by Thai Pongal since antiquity, becomes ever more relevant.
I wish a happy and a prosperous Thai Pongal festival to the Hindus in Sri Lanka and abroad.’