Onam
Onam
is the national festival of the Malayalees. It is a festival quite unique to
Kerala. Like all other traditional festivals, the promotion of amity and social
cohesion is the aim of celebrating Onam.
There is a popular myth associated with Onam. The Gods became jealous of the
goodwill enjoyed by the Asura King Mahabali, the benevolent king of Kerala.
So they plotted a way to get rid of him. Lord Vishnu came down to earth in the
guise of Vamana, a midget. He took advantage of the good king’s benevolence
and tricked him into leaving his kingdom and kicked Mahabali to the nether world.
But as a courteous gesture, Lord Vishnu gave Mahabali permission to visit his
kingdom and people once a year. This visit of Mahabali marks Onam, the festival
of plenty.
The main feature of the festival of Onam is a vociferous welcome to King Mahabali.In
millions of households in Kerala. Onam is symbolized by icons that are literally
earthy. Made of clay or mud, these conical objects are adorned with flowers
and worshipped as Thrikkakara Appan, symbolizing the vamana avatharam of Lord
Vishnu, which is central to the Onam legend.
That Onam is being celebrated in Tirupaty also confirms the fact that Onam was
popular in the southern region before becoming confined to Kerala after the
10th century AD. Mangudy Marudanar, one of the noted poets of the Sangam Age,
is said to have described the Onam celebrations in the Pandyan capital of Madurai
in one of his poems.
Onam is celebrated in the month of Chingam, Malayalam era (late August or early
September). It has for the last several centuries become a grand festival in
which all sections of the people of Kerala participate with extreme jubilation.
The most striking fact about this festival is that it is celebrated in commemoration
of a glorious past when there prevailed an ideal state of prosperity and peace.
This aspect has a special significance to the people of modern times when all
their dreams are for the realization of such a state.
Festivals in Kerala
Onam || Sabarimala
Festival || Nehru
Trophy Boat Race || Aaranmula
Boat Race || Cochin
Carnival || Muharram
|| Malabar Mahotsavam
|| Swathi Festival
|| Aarattu || Jagannatha
Festival || Aattachamayam
|| Indira Gandhi
Boat Race || Thirunakara
Festival || Vettukadu
Perunal || Nisha
Gandhi Dance Festival || Oachirakkali
|| Easter || Thrissur
Puram || Aranmula
Uthrittathi || Chittur
Konganpada || Maramon
Convention || Nellikulangara
Vallanghi Vela || Thiruvathira
Festival || Oaachira
Kettukazhcha || Nilamperoor
Padayani || Ramadan
|| Makaravillakku
at Sabarimala || Kerala
Village fair || Kalapathy
Chariot Festival ( Ratholsav )
