The people of Kerala are known for their amazing spirit and festive attitude towards life. The festivals in Kerala are a great way to bring together different people from diverse backgrounds into a common celebration mode. These festivals in Kerala are not only celebrated with much pomp and gaiety but they are also a great way to have a glimpse into Kerala’s unique and rich culture and history. This blog enlists the 7 most famous festivals in Kerala that you must join and enjoy the rich culture, vibrant colors and traditions of Kerala.
Onam Festival
Onam is one of the most famous and colorful festivals in Kerala, celebrated with much fervor and gaiety. Also known as Thiruvonam, the festival is celebrated by all citizens of Kerala, irrespective of caste, class, creed, community and social status. It is an essentially a harvest festival and is celebrated once a year during the Malayalam month of Chingom.
There are many interesting things that come associated with Onam. Primarily amongst these are the creation of Pookalam, with some great arrangements of colorful flowers which adorns almost every house. The celebration also include visiting temples, feasting with relatives and friends, gifting new clothes as well as participating in boat races and a number of other exciting sporting events. It is a great experience to arrive in Kerala during Onam.
Thrissur Pooram Festival
With a legacy of more than 200 years, the Thrissur Pooram Festival is one of the great temple festivals of Kerala. A yearly festival, its celebration involves people coming together at Vadakkunathan Temple and performing a 36 hour long puja that ends in glorious fireworks. The festival is essentially celebrated in the honor of Lord Shiva and is accompanied by vibrant colors, music as well as devotion.
Thrissur Pooram Festival is celebrated in the month of April. A huge procession of nearly 50 beautifully clad elephants passing through the streets with the sound of the drums is an amazing sight to behold. The temperature remains wonderfully pleasant during the festival and it’s a great experience to be in the Kerala at this time.
Kerala Boat Festivals
Backwaters is the quintessential gem of Kerala and houseboats and boats are its adornments. The relation between the inhabitants of Kerala and boats is unique and they experience great delight is taking part in any festivities and celebrations related to boats. Keeping in tune with the traditions and the likings of the locals, there are a number of boat festivals celebrated in Kerala.
Most popular amongst these, The Nehru Trophy Boat Race, the Champakulam Moolam Boat Race, Vallam Kali at Punnamada Lake Payippad Jalotsavam at Payippad Lake etc. even draws tourists from abroad to take part in the gala. The affinity of Keralan people with boat festivals is such that many a times it is celebrated even without a reason although most of the time it takes places along with Onam and other festivals. Boat festivals and nevertheless great events to witness.
Vishu Festival
Vishu is one of the most important festivals of the Keralan people. In fact it is the New Year for the Malayali population of the state, which is based on their ancient astrological calendar. The Vishu Festival is celebrated during the month of April and is attended by many attractions and colorful exhibitions. One of the most wonderful highlights of the festival of Vishu is the observance of the custom of Kani Kanal, which means the first sight. In this custom, it is believed that the fortune of the coming year depends upon what object is seen on the morning of the day of Vishu.
Another tradition with Vishu is the distribution of money to the younger members of the family. The members then join for the mid-day feast and the festival is concluded by a brilliant display of fireworks in the night.
Attukal Pongala Festival
The festival is said to be one of the largest congregation of the female crowd and holds the Guinness Record for the same distinction. The festival is celebrated with a great joy and people, cutting across religion, caste and class take part in it with much fervor.
Attukal Pogala Festival is celebrated in the honor of Attukal Devi, who is said to be an incarnation of Goddess Parvati. Her temple is located close to the Thiruvananthapuram City. The festival is celebrated during the month of February/March. The custom is that the women from all over the city cook their offering-a sweetened dish made up of jaggery, rice and banana- and bring it to Attukal temple. The devotion of the people taking part in the festival is worth seeing and a great sight to capture into camera.
Theyyam Festival
Following their age-old legacies, the Theyyam Festival is a welcome break for the people of Kerala, throwing them into a delightful mood of festivity. The festival is said to be around 800 years and almost 400 different cultural dances are showcased. Different performers are dressed as deities.
The performer has to go through three stages of leaning, the first stage is decorating themselves with colors, flowers and a mask. In the second stage, it involves torture and the third stage is about dancing on a rhythm. Theyyam Festival is celebrate during the months from December to April.
Visitors get to know many mythological stories and how they vary from region to region. Due to cool and pleasant weather during its celebration, it is attended by a large number of people.
Guruvayoor Festival
Falling in the month of February-March, that is the month of Kumbham, Guruvayur is a religious festival bringing together people from all diverse backgrounds into a common mode of gala and celebration. There are a number of attractions and draws with the festival. A number of processions, decorative arches, bright-lights, fireworks marks the observance of Guruvayoor Festival.
People paint their homes while buildings are decorated with plantain trunks, arecanuts, coconut bunches etc. The festival finishes off with Aarattu on the 10th day and charms the tourists with an excellent display of many rituals and traditions of this majestic “Land of Gods.”
Planning your trip to Kerala? Find some amazing holiday packages:
Also read:
Kerala Culture and Traditions – 6 little known facts
8 Must visit Palaces in Kerala to discover rich culture and heritage
10 Famous Historical Monuments of Kerala
This is a great article.Kerala is the palce of festivals, you can still see evidances of ancient civilization in this land. Kerala is one of the most beautiful touristations in India. Festivals in Kerala is mainly related to temples. There are hundreds of tourists coming to kerala for visiting those moments. There are so many tour operating companies are working actively for receiving tourists to God’s own country.