NAGARCOIL (TN):  Giving a secular touch to the Pongal,  the traditional harvest festival celebrated by Hindus, a group of Christian women performed the ritual connected with the event at a church compound near on Monday.

According to church sources, about 100 women joined the festival by preparing the traditional 'pongal prasadam', a mix of rice, jaggery and milk, in earthen pots in the compound of the St Mary's Church at Mulakukad near here.

The prasadam was then taken inside the church to be offered to the Lord seeking divine blessings for peace, prosperity and joy, they said.

In a similar gesture, a mass 'pongala' was organised in Agastheeswaram village near Kanyakumari where people cutting across religious barriers participated in the ceremony connected with the harvest festival.

People offered sweet pongal, a preparation of rice, gaggery and milk, to the 'Sun God' for the blessings bestowed on farmers to raise paddy.

Meanwhile, Kanyakumari Devi temple and other shrines in the district witnessed heavy rush as hundreds of pilgrims returning home after the Makaravilakku festival in Sabarimala had a stop-over there.

Civic bodies organised community celebrations. 'Rangoli' competitions and sports events were also conducted at various places in the state.

In the city, where all public buildings, including the state secretariat, were tastefully illuminated, while people dressed in new clothes were seen thronging temples.

Today is the first day of the two-day celebrations. On Tuesday, special prayers would be offered for the well-being of cattle.