Kāṇum Poṅkal, the fourth and closing day of the Poṅkal days, is set aside for visiting family and friends. Its name means 'to see' or 'to meet', and it reflects a social custom rather than any temple rite of its own. After three days of ritual cooking and honouring the cattle, the day turns to relationships. Married daughters and sisters return to their parental homes, and the young seek the blessing of their elders. How the day is fixed: The day is fixed by the solar calendar as the third civil day of the Tai month, two days after Makara Saṅkrānti. No tithi or nakṣatra enters the reckoning. Keep in mind: Kāṇum Poṅkal follows Bhogi, Thai Poṅkal and Māṭṭu Poṅkal, and each of those is kept as its own observance. This day closes the stretch. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Family visits: Extended families gather under one roof, and friends and relatives exchange visits. Children receive a blessing from their elders along with a little pocket money. Rice for the crows: In some households the leftover Poṅkal of the previous day is placed on a turmeric leaf outdoors for crows and other birds. The custom carries the festival's thanksgiving out to the wider natural world. A sister's prayer: Some sisters perform a small rite that day, praying for their brothers' long life and wellbeing. In villages the festival then closes with kōlam contests, pot breaking and tug of war, and in Chennai the beaches fill with families. Worth remembering: The sister's prayer parallels the North Indian Bhāi Dūj in spirit but developed independently of it. Bhāi Dūj is a separate observance in its own season and is not merged with this day. Some families put out the rice for the crows on Māṭṭu Poṅkal morning instead, and the round of visits differs from house to house. In the end it is best to follow the way the elders of one's own house have kept it.
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