Onam
festival is the most important and widely celebrated festival in Kerala.
Each and every native of Kerala, regardless of his or her religion,
celebrates the Onam festival of Kerala. In Kerala, Onam festival is thus
regarded as a unifying festival and can be called the state festival of
Kerala. Onam is the most important harvest festival of Kerala. It
attracts thousands of people from nearby states as well to catch a
glimpse of the grand celebration of this vibrant festival. The onam
festival is celebrated in the Malayalam month of "Chingam",
which falls roughly between the end of August and beginning of
September. The festival celebrations can range from 4 to 10 days. Each day has a variety of activities to keep spirits up. These activities usually begin with worshipping the Lord in the morning, to much lighter activities like singing, dancing, indulging in pastimes like sports, boat races, attending theater plays and cooking lip-smacking food. The people of Kerala are dressed in their best clothes and the kids decorate the threshold of their houses with "Pookolam", which means making beautiful designs on the ground with flower petals.
Infact Malayalies all over the world celebrate this festival, as it is a very important festival to them. The most important day in this festival is the day of Thiruvonam. On this day, an elaborate feast is prepared in every household. No one misses the feast for anything in this world. The main attraction of Onam festival is the boat races that take place. Thousands of people gather around the lakes and cheer endlessly for their favorite boat. All said and done, it is the time to spread cheer and fun around and of course gorge on yummy food!
