The Tamil festival of Thai Pongal was celebrated around the world and across the Tamil homeland on Tuesday.

The secular festival gives thanks to the sun and for the harvest, and dates back in its current form to at least as far back as the Medieval Chola empire.

Canadian politicians from across the political spectrum released statements congratulating the Tamil community on their achievements and thanking them for their contributions to Canadian life as they marked Tamil Heritage Month.

The occasion was first marked after an unanimous decision in the House of Commons in 2016, passing a resolution to declare the January as Tamil Heritage Month. Since then, January has seen numerous events take place across the country with community leaders and politicians attending and paying tribute to Tamil Canadians.

The Toronto District School Board earlier announced that the month would be marked with the theme of “Remembrance. Resilience. Recognition.”

See some of the messages of support that Canadian politicians have been sending to the Tamil diaspora in the country below.

Tamil Christians celebrated Christmas today in the homeland, with church services and private celebrations. 

British Tamil students held the 'Breaking The Silence' series last month, raising awareness on the stuggles of maintaining Tamil culture and traditions amid ethnic and cultural oppression by the Sri Lankan state. 

Across Maaveerar Week (Great Heroe's Week) in November, the Tamil Students Initiative (TSI) held a series of events at universities across London, which included an art exhibition on displacement, talks on the ongoing military oppression in the North-East and discussions on identity within the diaspora, as well as a book club. 

Politics, culture, religion and caste were the topics of discussion at an event held at SOAS University of London last month, as British Tamils gathered to discuss Tamil identity in the diaspora.

As part of the discussion - entitled ‘Diasporic identity: Who are we?’ – panellists discussed a variety of topics related to how the British Tamil community and identity has been formed and grown.

The Tamil festival of lights known as Karthikai Deepam or Karthikai Vilakkeedu was celebrated by Eelam Tamils on Friday.

The festival falls each year on the full moon night of the Tamil month of karthikai (November). Origin stories behind the festival vary regionally, although one reason is to celebrate the birth of the Tamil god Murugan.