January 3rd, 2023

The month of January is Tamil Heritage Month in Canada. Approximately 200,000 Tamil people call Canada home. The theme of this year’s Tamil Heritage Month is “Tamils in Trade and Commerce.”

Celebrated in Canada each year since 2016, this month is an opportunity to recognize the major contributions Tamil people have made to the growth and prosperity of the country, while overcoming tremendous obstacles.

Facts About Tamil Culture & Traditions

• The Tamil people are an ethnic group originally from southern India and Sri Lanka with a recorded history going back more than 2,000 years.
• The Tamil language is considered a classical language, like Hebrew, Latin or Greek.
• Tamil People practice a variety of faiths including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism.
• Tamil Heritage Month is celebrated in January to coincide with the celebration of Thai Pongal, a Tamil harvest festival, as well as other Tamil artistic and cultural events.
• A common greeting in Tamil is to say “Vanakkam” while joining your palms together over your heart in a prayer position.