Kerala is renowned for its religious and cultural traditions. The beautiful region, also known as “God’s own country,” has a lot to offer in terms of cultural celebrations, festivals, and rituals that take place all year long. These events not only inspire the locals but also the tourists who occasionally travel to Kerala to experience the incredible culture and traditions of that amazing state. Let’s learn about some of these states’ great festivals.
In Kerala, Onam is the most well-known holiday. In August and September, a 10-day festival including a lavish and magnificent display of South Indian traditional dances, music, and other thrilling events like boat racing and other sports is conducted.
To celebrate the return of their beloved King Mahabali, people make beautiful Pookalam, a Rangoli made of flowers, in front of their homes and on public streets. The primary draws of this event are a massive elephant parade, exhilarating boat races, and outstanding cultural dance and music performances.
By adorning their homes and giving gifts, all of the residents of the city and its environs get into a festive spirit for celebrations. The renowned Onam feast has exquisite sweets served on banana leaves along with some special vegetarian meals.
Pongal is a sweet dish made in a clay pot with ingredients like jaggery, coconut, and rice that has been boiled. This unusual celebration is called after the dish because, on the ninth day of its ten-day duration, which takes place in February and March, women prepare the cuisine. During the Pongal celebration, women of all castes and religions from diverse locations dress exquisitely in jewelry and ethnic clothing. The prepared dish is then offered as a sacrifice to the goddess Attukal Devi.
For garnering the greatest female audience in 1997, this exceptional event has already earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. With the addition of ethnic music and dance performances, the expensive celebration becomes magnificent.
In Kerala, backwater rides are quite popular, and there are several lakes and rivers where the wonderful Kerala Boat Festivals are placed. From July through September, Kerala celebrates its boat festivals. Boat races are held at several locations around the state, and a variety of boats of all sizes participate. The fervor, passion, and amazing synchronicity of boat racing provide the spectator with a complete thrill and enjoyable experience.
Numerous visitors from throughout the nation come to see these thrilling boat races across the state. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Alleppey, the Champakulam Moolam Boat Race in Alappuzha, the Vallam Kali at Punnamada Lake, etc. are some of the well-known boat races.
One of Kerala’s most impressive temple festivities takes place there. The event lasted 36 hours and takes place in Thrissur Vadakkunnathan Temple in April or May. Lord Shiva is the deity revered throughout this event.
Elephants are used to march in front of the drummers as part of the extravagant decorations used to mark this event. People from many castes and religions congregate at the temple to view the magnificent procession and join in the celebratory spirit of the festivities. The celebration comes to a close with spectacular fireworks displays.
One of Kerala’s most amazing celebrations is called Theyyam. From December through April, a remarkable event with 400 distinct cultural dances is presented. These 800-year-old cultural festivals feature traditional dancers who are clothed as gods and goddesses and enthrall the audience by playing the parts of various legendary figures.
All Theeyam participants adhere to a three-stage program, in which they first decorate themselves with flowers and colors, torture themselves in the second stage, and then execute a dance to a beat in the third and final stage.
This seven-day celebration is devoted to worshipping the well-known Lord Ayyappa. Every year, the 14th of January is the date of this celebration. At the well-known Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, devotees and travelers congregate to worship their adored God.
The three-day, beautiful parade in which Lord Ayyappa’s jewelry, known as Thiruvabharanam, is carried through the audience is one of this festival’s main draws. The celebration illuminates the area by enveloping it in an incredible heavenly glow.
Given that a large portion of Kerala’s population is Christian, Christmas is also a highly well-liked holiday there. The 25th of December is always the day on which Christmas is observed, just as in every other part of the globe.
Churches and homes around the state are decorated elaborately with lights and flowers. Some of the main attractions of the Christmas festival in Kerala include exchanging sweets and gifts with friends and family, Christmas Mass, Christmas cakes, decorating Christmas trees with stars, festoons, and other ornaments, Christmas carols sung in churches, and various shopping festivals in big cities.
Kerala celebrates Maha Shivratri, a large celebration, in either February or March. During this holiday, people observe a daylong fast to worship Lord Shiva. Devotees congregate at the Shiva Temple near the river Periyar to see the amazing self-emerging Siva Lingam (idol of Lord Shiva) constructed of sand and to offer prayers to it.
The day is filled with fascinating cultural performances and ceremonies. The Bali Tharpanam is one of the most well-known rites, in which one makes sacrifices to one’s ancestors by engaging in religious observances early in the morning.
On the final day of the well-known Onam festival, which takes place in August and September, this is another well-liked boat race in Kerala. The Aranmula Parthasarathy temple, which is situated on the banks of the River Pamba in the village of Aranmula, is not far from this remarkable occurrence.
Palliyodams, beautifully adorned serpent boats, are used during the race, and they are pulled by 100 oarsmen wearing traditional clothing who chant hymns and strive for the finish line. Every year, a sizable crowd gathers for the two-day event near the Aranmula Parthasarathy temple.
All of Kerala’s festivals are renowned for having a wealth of traditions, and this is only possible due to the people of Kerala, who believe in upholding and honoring their centuries-old customs and respecting their culture above all else even in today’s world.
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God’s own country particularly in terms of architecture and secular in nature is the hub of temples and shrines. The bond of history and culture besides the utmost faith and influence of the story defines the belief of the locals. The story of belief and dedication is amazingly eternal and it all started with worship of nature that was in fact the original form of reverence but later the phase o...