Pongal 2026: Singapore PM Lawrence invites citizens to celebrate festival with Tamil community at Little India

Regarded as India's most widely recognised Hindu harvest festival, Pongal is celebrated alongside Makar Sankranti worldwide as Indian communities gather to exchange the vibe. Pongal festival is celebrated in the Tai month of the Tamil solar calendar and this year, Thai Pongal and Makar Sankranti both fall on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. This year, the Tamil community in Singapore is celebrating Pongal with great readiness at Little India or the Indian Heritage Centre. Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong called citizens to enjoy the festive spirit with the community.

"Pongal, celebrated by our Tamil community, is a time to gather with family, give thanks, honour our roots, and welcome a hopeful year ahead. Warm wishes to all! Do take some time to enjoy the festive spirit at Little India or the Indian Heritage Centre!" he said in a post on X, sharing a vibrant picture of the citizens gearing up for the festival.



X users also shared glimpses of the Pongal preparations at Little India, a place famous for exhibiting Indian food and culture in Singapore. "Pongal in Singapore has come to be as dazzling as Deepavali with lovely festive decor in Little India. Though it is not a holiday here, it is celebrated with as much fervour as in India," one of them wrote.

Earlier on Sunday, the Indian High Commission in Singapore led nearly 1,500 Indian migrant workers in a day-long celebration of Pongal festival, that also marks the beginning of the Tamil month.

High Commissioner Dr Shilpak Ambule and Tung Yui Fai, Chief of the Assurance, Care and Engagement Group in the Ministry of Manpower, joined the celebrations, extending greetings and well wishes to the workers at the festival held in the northern Singapore's industrial district of Sembawang.