Pongal Date is the winter solstice in the Hindu solar calendar. It is marked by the passing of the sun into the sign Capricorn. Pongal is celebrated on this date itself and also to celebrate the coming of spring. There are several ways of calculating the Hindu solar calendar, so Pongal date may vary by up to one day in various parts of India depending whether local custom dictates the use of the old or new Hindu calendar or astronomical tables.

The Masi Magam Festival of Pondicherry is celebrated on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Masi, corresponding to the months of February-March by the Gregorian calendar. The focus of the festival lies on the bathing of the deities in the waters of `theerthavari' or Bay of Bengal. Idols from as many as 64 temples are brought in the early morning to the sea front near Kuruchikuppam in Pondicherry and given a ceremonial bath through various rituals.

The Villianur Temple car Festival is celebrated around the middle of May, the exact date depending on the appearance of the full moon. The decorated car of the Thirukameswarar Kokilambal Temple is taken out in a procession, pulled by hundreds of devotees. Festivals are conducted with a lot of enthusiasm and fervor. Festivals are of various kinds.

On July 14, the Bastille Day, Pondicherry witnesses Indo-French pageantry. Donning their uniforms, war veterans march through the streets singing 'Marsellaise'. More interestingly, the French flag can be seen flying alongside the Indian flag on many housetops.

The French Food Festival is exciting and enjoyable at the same time. The festival is a high time for all those food buffs. Once the capital of the French India, Pondicherry carries the rich culinary tradition of the French. To pay tribute to this special art, the Tourism Department of Pondicherry organizes the 'Gourmet' - a food festival of its kind.

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.

Revolutionary, poet, yogi, spiritual teacher, visionary - Sri Aurobindo was all this and much more. This prophet of the New Age not only predicted the perfectibility of the human condition but also assured that the day is not far when man`s supramental consciousness achieves its fullest fruition on earth.