{"id":3298,"date":"2021-08-27T08:05:27","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T08:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/?p=3298"},"modified":"2021-08-27T08:05:29","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T08:05:29","slug":"onam-festivals-interesting-onam-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/onam-festivals-interesting-onam-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Onam Festivals: Interesting Onam events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The most splendid Kerala festival, Onam is just around the corner and the spirit of this \u2018festival of harvest\u2019 is already in the air. Onam is marked by laying a colourful arrangement of flower patches on the ground and preparing an array of mouth-watering delicacies at home. This year Onam began on Thursday August 12, 2021 and would be ending on August 23, 2021. It is a 10-day festival prominently observed in South India and marks the homecoming of the mythical demon King Mahabali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onam\u00a0is a harvesting festival observed by the Malayali\u2019s during the month of Chingam, the first month in the Malayalam calendar, Kollavarsham. It usually falls in the month of August and September every year. The word Onam is originated from the Sanskrit word Shravanam which refers to one of the 27 Nakshatras or constellations. In South India, Thiru is used for anything associated with the Lord Vishnu and it is believed that Thiruvonam is the Nakshatra of Lord Vishnu who pressed the King Mahabali to the underworld with his foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onam is celebrated to honour the home-coming of a mythical-demon king Mahabali. Mahabali was a demon but he was known for being generous and kind-hearted. Gods were very insecure about the popularity of the demon king and so, they asked help from Lord Vishnu. As, Mahabali worshipped Lord Vishnu so, Vishnu told Gods that he would aid them but did not involve in a battle with Mahabali. Lord Vishnu transformed into a poor dwarf Brahmin called Vamana and went to Mahabali’s kingdoms, asking for three wishes. He asked Mahabali for property right over a piece of land which measured ‘three paces’. Mahabali agreed to fulfill Vamana’s desire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People make the carpet of flowers which is known as ‘Pookkalam’ and lay in front of their house to welcome King Mahabali. Several traditional rituals are performed like Snake boat races, Onappottan, Kaazhchakkula, Puli Kali, Kaikottikkali, etc. by a lavish feast called ‘Sadhya’. People wear new clothes, cook delicacies, and serve them on banana leaves by a cup of Payasam. At the festival, people also perform traditional dance, games, and music which are referred to as Onakalikal. The nine-course meal is known as Onasadya which comprises several dishes like rice, sambar, rasam, avail, and more. They served on Thiruvonam the main day of celebrations. Onam festival 10 days are known as Atham, Chithira, Chodi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Uthradom and Thiruvonam. The various events which take place during Onam festivals are-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pookkalam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several designs with the help of flowers are made by the people and lay in front of their houses. With the passing of the day during the Onam festival, a new layer of flowers is added to the Pookkalam. Even at some places, Pookkalam competitions are held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Onasadya<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the main day that is Thiruonam Onasadya meal is prepared and served on a Banana leaf. It is a nine-course meal that consists of at least four to five vegetables. Most of the families cook nine to 13 dishes for the Onasadya. Even several restaurants over there offer as many as 30 dishes for the Onasadya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Onakalikal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It refers to all the games played at the festival of Onam. Talappanthukali is a game played with a ball that is a favourite game of men. Men also play archery or Ambeyyal. Women engage themselves in making Pookkalam and also perform several traditional dances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vallamkali Boat Race<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also known as the snake boat race. In a boat riding competition, around 100 boatmen compete with each other. This is the most famous among people over there. In various patterns, the boats are decorated beautifully. Even several people visit the city to witness this race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Folk Dances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women perform folk dances which is also a major attraction of the festival. Kaikottikali is a clap dance performed by women. While dancing they praise King Mahabali. They also dance in a circle and it is known as Thumbi Thullai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The most splendid Kerala festival, Onam is just around the corner and the spirit of this \u2018festival of harvest\u2019 is already in the air. Onam … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[121],"tags":[309,310,338,339],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3310,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3298\/revisions\/3310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectvenue.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}