---
title: HR 25. Tamil Thai Pongal Day; January 14, 2025; recognize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr25
cite_as: HR 25, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr25
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr25.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr25/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69366
date: 2025-01-14
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr24.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr26.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 131
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr25.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 25
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-01-14
last_action: House Read and Adopted
sponsors:
  - Matt Reeves
  - Scott Hilton
  - Sandy Donatucci
  - Carter Barrett
  - Brent Cox
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR25/2025
upstream_id: 1919215
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Tamil Thai Pongal
  - cultural recognition
  - Georgia House resolution
  - Tamil American community
---

# HR 25. Tamil Thai Pongal Day; January 14, 2025; recognize

## Text

House Resolution 25
By: Representatives Reeves of the 99th, Hilton of the 48th, Donatucci of the 105th, Barrett of
the 24th, and Cox of the 28th
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing January 14, 2025, as Tamil Thai Pongal Day; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, Tamil Thai Pongal is the most important festival celebrated on January 14,
2025, by millions of Tamil ethnic people in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom,
India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, and many other countries around the world; and
WHEREAS, Tamil is the longest surviving classical language in the world, with a traceable
history exceeding 3,200 years and about 100 million native speakers across the globe; and
WHEREAS, Tamil people refer to Pongal as "Thamizhar Thiruvizha," the festival of Tamils,
and in the Tamil language, the word Pongal means "overflowing," signifying abundance and
prosperity; and
WHEREAS, similar to Thanksgiving Day in the United States, Tamils celebrate Pongal as
a festival of thanksgiving to mother nature, the earth, farm animals, and the Lord Suryan
(Sun) for the resources necessary for a bountiful yield of crops; and
WHEREAS, the peace loving Tamil American Community of Georgia makes many
important contributions to education, healthcare, the economy, and homeland security with
exceptionally educated professionals and successful entrepreneurs in a variety of fields, all
while continuing to observe and celebrate their rich Tamil cultural heritage; and
WHEREAS, Georgia Tamils are committed to sharing their vibrant culture, rich traditions,
and longstanding history with the people of Georgia by celebrating January 14, 2025, as
Tamil Thai Pongal.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that
the members of this body recognize January 14, 2025, as Tamil Thai Pongal Day in the State
of Georgia as well as commend the Georgia Tamil community for their ongoing
contributions to our state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the
public and the press.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House resolution recognizes January 14, 2025 as Tamil Thai Pongal Day, honoring a major Tamil harvest festival and the contributions of Georgia's Tamil American community.

### Plain-language summary

This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives designates January 14, 2025 as Tamil Thai Pongal Day in the State of Georgia. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil communities worldwide, similar in spirit to Thanksgiving, giving thanks to nature, farm animals, and the sun for a successful harvest.
The resolution's text describes the Tamil language's long history and explains the cultural meaning of the festival. It formally commends the Georgia Tamil community for its contributions to education, healthcare, the economy, and homeland security. The resolution directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies available to the public and press. It does not change any Georgia law; it is a ceremonial statement by the House.

### What it does

- Formally recognizes January 14, 2025 as Tamil Thai Pongal Day in the State of Georgia.
- Commends the Georgia Tamil American community for contributions to education, healthcare, the economy, and homeland security.
- Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.
- Creates no new legal requirements, funding, or penalties, as it is a ceremonial recognition rather than a change to state law.

### Who it affects

The resolution primarily concerns the Tamil American community in Georgia, whose cultural traditions and contributions it recognizes. It also involves the Clerk of the House of Representatives, who is directed to distribute copies of the resolution.

### Why it matters

The resolution has no legal effect on Georgians day to day. Its significance is symbolic, offering official state recognition of a cultural and religious holiday celebrated by Georgia's Tamil community and publicly acknowledging that community's contributions to the state.

### Key provisions

- The resolving clause designates January 14, 2025 as Tamil Thai Pongal Day in the State of Georgia.
- The resolution commends the Georgia Tamil community for contributions to education, healthcare, the economy, and homeland security.
- A further resolution clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies available to the public and press.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2025-01-14)
- Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-01-14)
- Sponsors: Matt Reeves, Scott Hilton, Sandy Donatucci, Carter Barrett, Brent Cox
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69366

> The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr25.md?full=1