Celebration of Onam

1. High spirited people of Kerala celebrate Onam with gaiety and fervor.The festival is celebrated for a period of ten days, starting from the first day Atham and continuing till tenth and the biggest day called Thiru Onam. The spectacular festival attracts thousands of tourists from across the country and globe. Immense popularity of the festival is further promoted by the Government of India by celebrating Kerala Tourism Week during the time of .....

What is Onam

2. Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the state of Kerala. It is a harvest festival and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm all over the state by people of all communities. According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.Onam is celebrated in the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar Kollavarsham. This .....

When is Thiru Onam

3. Onam Festival is celebrated in the beginning of the first month of Malayalam Calendar Kolla Varsham called Chingam. This month corresponds to August September in Gregorian Calendar and Bhadrapada or Bhadon in Indian Hindu Calendar.Onam carnival continues for ten days, starting from the day of Atham and culminating on Thiru Onam. Atham and Thiru Onam are the most important days for Onam festivities. The day of Atham is decided by the position of s .....

Legends of Onam

4. Just as in the case of many other festivals of India, there are several interesting legends behind the origin of Onam. The festival is celebrated by all in the state of Kerala, but Nambudiri Brahmins of Kerala are the most spirited when it comes to Onam celebrations as they attribute its origin to their own community. Nambudiri also called Namputiri is the dominant caste of Kerala. Its members regard themselves as the true repositories of the anc .....

King Mahabali & Onam

5. The legend of King Mahabali is the most popular and the most fascinating of all legends behind Onam. Onam celebrates the visit of King Mahabali to the state of Kerala every year. The festival is celebrated with fervour as King Mahabali is greatly respected by his subjects. King Mahabali is also popularly called Maveli and Onathappan.The story goes that the beautiful state of Kerala was once ruled by an Asura demon king, Mahabali. The King was gre .....

Significance

6. Onam is an ancient festival which still survives in modern times. Kerala rice harvest festival and the Festival of Rain Flowers, which fall on the month of Chingam, celebrates the Asura King Mahabali annual visit from Patala the underworld. Onam is unique since Mahabali has been revered by the people of Kerala since prehistory.The King is so much attached to his kingdom that it is believed that he comes annually from the nether world to see his p .....

Rituals and activities

7. Onam falls in the month of Chingam, which is the first month according to the Malayalam Calendar. The celebrations begin within a fortnight of the Malayalam New Year and go on for ten days. All over the state of Kerala, festive rituals, traditional cuisine, dance and music mark this harvest festival. The ten day Onam festival is considered to be flagged off with Atthachamayam Royal Parade on Atham Day in Thripunithara a suburb of Kochi City. The .....

Pookalam

8. The floral carpet, known as Onapookkalam, is made out of the gathered blossoms with several varieties of flowers of differing tints pinched up into little pieces to serve the decorator purpose. It is considered a work of art accomplished with a delicate touch and a highly artistic sense of tone and blending. In a similar manner North Indians make something called Rangoli which is made of powders of various colors. When completed, a miniature pand .....

Onam Sadya feast

9. The Onam sadya feast is another very indispensable part of Thiruvonam, and almost every Keralite attempts to either make or attend one. The feast is served on plantain leaves and have more than 13 to 15 curries, along with traditional pickles, papadam and a dessert called payasam a sweet dish made of milk, sugar, jaggery and other traditional Indian savories. In hotels and temples, the number of curries and dishes may go up to 30. The importance .....

Onam Wishes

10. The state festival of Kerala, Onam, is celebrated with zeal. All through the ten days of the festival, the air is filled with excitement, while people are busy in welcoming their King Mahabali. Feasting, laying Pookkalam floral carpet on floor, singing songs and shopping are the highlights of the festival. Malayalees from the nook and corner of the country as well as abroad make it a point to visit their loved ones back home in Kerala, during the .....

Onam Rangoli

11. Rangoli or Kolam is one of the most popular arts in India. It is actually a kind of decorative motif made by using finely ground white powder, colors and flowers. A Rangoli can be either a wall art as well as floor art. The patterns in a traditional Rangoli are usually derived from nature. The most popular Rangoli motifs are peacocks, swans, mango, flowers, creepers, etc. Traditionally the dyes for the Rangoli are derived from natural like barks .....

Onam Kolam

12. Onam is the state festival of Kerala. It is a ten days long festival in which the tenth day, the day of Tiruvonam is considered extremely auspicious and fortunate. Malayalee families all over the world celebrate this occasion with great enthusiasm and gusto. People organize community celebrations and feasts for this occasion. They also decorate their home with flowers and torans. The most important part of Onam celebrations is the Onam Kolam or t .....

Music and Dance

13. Traditional dance forms including Thiruvathira, Kummattikali, Pulikali, Thumbi Thullal etc. are performed as part of celebrations all over Kerala at this time. Thiruvathirakali is a women dance performed in a circle around a lamp. Kummattikali is a famous and colorful mask dance. In Thrissur, festivities includes a procession consisting of caparisoned elephants surrounded by Kummatikali dancers. The masked dancers go from house to house performin .....

Boat race

14. The Vallamkali the snake boat race is another event that is synonymous with Onam. Well known races include the Aranmula Boat Race and the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. About 100 oarsmen row huge and graceful snake boats and men and women come from far and near to watch the snake boats skim through the water.To watch the grand gala race, thousands of people assemble on the banks of the river Pamba at Aranmulla where a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna an .....

Elephant Procession

15. The spectrum of Onam gets its shade of royalty with the regal elephant ride that takes place at Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala. Decked in GOLD, the favourite animal of royals of India looks even more magnificent. And, we have not just one but a whole lot of them.The Dazzling AttireIntricate designs are made on big golden plates made for the elephant forehead. These are big enough and continue till trunk. A lot of craftsmanship goes into .....

Onam Game Onakalikal

16. Onakalikal is a collective name for the numerous games played on the occasion of Onam. After a sumptuous Onasadhya meal, it the ideal time to indulge in a little bit of merriment and sports and energetic people of Kerala make the most of it.There are various kind of games devised for the occasion for people with different temperaments. While the old and the sober ones go in for indoor games like chess Chathurangam, cards and dice, the young and e .....

Onam Game Talappanthukali

17. To play this unique kind of foot ball, players divide themselves into two groups. Talappanthukali is played in an open area. Natta a stick is planted at one end of ground and a line or boundary is drawn at the other end to mark the space beyond which the ball should not be thrown. A player from the team playing from the side of natta serves the ball to the opposite team. Players of the opposite team try to catch the ball. If the opposite team is .....

Onam Decorations

18. The harvest festival of Onam is celebrated with great enthusiasm. People wait for the festive season very eagerly, because they get the opportunity to reconnect with their long lost friends and faraway acquaintances. According to the legends, King Mahabali visits every Malayalee household in Kerala, on the occasion of Onam, to enquire about their wellbeing. Therefore, in order to welcome their benevolent king, the Malayalees make sure that their .....

Onam Decoration Ideas

19. Flowers play a prominent part during the harvest festival of Onam. Apart from pookkalam the floral carpet laid on verandah, during Onam, people decorate their home with flowers.For the festival, you may choose beautiful flower garlands made of marigold or jasmine. Clad the photo frames of deities with jasmine garlands. Put up a beautiful garlands of marigold, at the main door of your home.Place a beautiful flower vase at the center table of your .....

Other customs

20. The tradition of buying and wearing new clothes for the occasion of Onam is called the Onakkodi.During the Onam, Keralite Hindus install an image of Thrikkakara Appan or Onatthappan Vishnu in the form of Vamana in their home just as Hindus install images or murtis of Lord Ganesh on the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.Many lamps are lit in Hindu temples of Kerala during this celebration. A palmyra tree is erected in front of temples and surrounded with .....

The Ten Days of Celebration

21. Atham The first day of Onam Celebrations starts with Atham day in the Malayalam month of Chingam. It is believed that King Mahabali starts his preparations to descend from Pathala to Kerala on this day.Chithira The second day is marked off when a second layer is added to pookkalam design with 2 different colours apart from yellow mostly orange and creamy yellow. On this day, people start cleaning the household to prepare for the Thiruvonam day.Ch .....

Mahabali conquers the three worlds

22. Mahabali gradually became a powerful ruler of all the realms heaven and earth, with the able guidance of his guru Shukracharya. The Devas gods saw the rise of the Asura king as a threat. Envious of Mahabali prosperity, the gods approached Vishnu and asked for his help, to which Vishnu agreed.A variation of this story says that Vishnu stopped Mahabali as a boon to Aditi, who was the mother of the Devas. Kashyapa had two wives, Diti and Aditi, wh .....

Vishnu blessings and birth of Onam

23. For the devotion of the daitya, Mahabali, Lord Vishnu Vamana granted him rule over the underworld. It was also granted that he would hold the position of Indra for one Manvantara a cyclic measure of time, thus fulfilling his devotee desire the office of Indra was a rotating position, changing every Manvantara.As a last gift, Mahabali was granted permission to visit his subjects once a year. Thus, Keralites celebrate the Onam festival to commemora .....

Onam Celebrations

24. High spirited people of Kerala celebrate Onam with gaiety and fervor. The festival is celebrated for a period of ten days, starting from the first day Atham and continuing till tenth and the biggest day called Thiru Onam. The spectacular festival attracts thousands of tourists from across the country and globe. Immense popularity of the festival is further promoted by the Government of India by celebrating Kerala Tourism Week during the time of .....

Activities Events and Recreation

25. There are a lot of activities that takes place all over the state on Onam. Pulikali performers paint themselves in the guise of a tiger and enact hunting scenes to entertain people. Kummattikali artists don an attire of plaited grass and big wooden mask. They move from house to house collecting small gifts and amusing children. At Thrissur, caparisoned elephants move out in a procession and present a regal view. While at Cheruthuruthy, Kathakali .....

The Spectacle of Onam

26. Onam is undoubtedly the most spectacular festival of Kerala. One needs to experience its magnificence in person. Reading books, watching pictures or trawling net simply cannot present Onam in its entire splendor and breathtaking vistas.Right from day one of the festival, called Atham colours begin to emanate from this ebullient festival. Making of Pookalam, the exquisite flower mat starts from this very day and continues till Thiruvonam when the .....

Other Festivals of Kerala

27. Festivals of Kerala are full of colours. They brims with mirth and joy and unfold the rich and varied culture of the God Own Country. Simplicity and inherent religious nature of the people of Kerala are also prominently represented as one makes a journey in the colourful world of Kerala festivals. In some festivals it appears that people of Kerala have adopted certain traditions from the cultures of other states. At the same time it is stunning t .....

Thiruvonam

28. The tenth and the most important day of Onam celebrations is known as Thiru Onam or the Tiru Onam. Here Thiru or Tiru stands for sacred, holy, beautiful or auspicious and is equivalent of ri in Hindi. It is so called as the day is the most significant of all, for the people of Kerala. People believe that it is on the tenth day that Lord Mahabali comes to visit his people. Some scholars say that the name Thiru Onam comes from the name Sravanotsav .....

Sravanmahotsav

29. The festival of Onam is celebrated on the full moon day in asterism Sravana in the month of August September. This asterism was sacred to Lord Vishnu. And as King Mahabali was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu the day became sacred for the people of Kerala. They began to celebrate the festival on this asterism as Sravanotsavam or Sravanmahotsav.Scholars believe that the other name Thiru Onam comes from Sravanotsavam itself. ra was dropped and vana h .....

Onam SMS

30. Onam is the state festival of Kerala. It is celebrated with immense joy and fervor in all the Malayalee families all over the world. It is ten days long festival in which the tenth day, Tiruvonam is regarded as the day of festivities and celebrations. People on this day celebrate this festival by community get together, feasts, cultural performances, playing various interesting games and exchanging good wishes. The most popular and easiest method .....

Onam Recipes

31. Onam is the state festival of Kerala. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm and zest by the Malayalees all over the world. While Thiruvonam the tenth day is the most important day of the festival, the celebrations at some places continue until chatayam twelfth day.The festival is marked by elaborate rituals, feast, socializing, games and fairs. Umpteen varieties of dishes are prepared throughout the festival in every Malayalee home. Onasadya or .....

Onam Cards

32. Onam is celebrated throughout the state of Kerala with immense gusto and fervor. The festival is celebrated as the harvest celebrations of the state as well as a welcome festival to the season of spring. It is celebrated in the month of chingam, the first month of a Malayalee calendar that collides with the August September month of the Gregorian calendar. On the occasion of Onam, Malayalee people all over the world celebrate the festival by comm .....