‘A Country of Festivals’
That is perhaps how someone visiting India would best describe our country, especially if they have been living here for a while!
The truly remarkable thing about Indian Festivals is, most are respected and universally celebrated by one and all. For the purpose of this article, we will be talking about the Onam Festival. What is the Onam Festival, you might ask? Well, it is nothing short of being the Most Important Festival in Kerala!
In this article, our team at EuroKids has carefully curated a list of everything you need to know about the Onam Festival. From learning Why the Onam Festival is Celebrated, to taking a look at How Onam is celebrated, we have it all covered here.
Ready to take more than just a ‘sneak peek’ into the Onam Festival? Let’s begin, with a look at the History of Onam!
Table of Contents
- The History of Onam: Decoding the Origins of The Onam Festival
- Significance of Onam Festival: Understanding Why The Onam Festival is celebrated
- Onam Celebrations: Learning How Onam is Celebrated
- Interesting Facts about The Onam Festival
The History of Onam: Decoding the Origins of The Onam Festival
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, the gods planned to overthrow the mythical demon king, Mahabali. As legend would have it, a dwarf Brahmana called Vaman was sent to the Earth to defeat Mahabali.
When Vaman met the demon king, he demanded three feet of land from him. Unable to find the ‘third foot’, Mahabali offered Vaman his head in its place. Moved by his charity, the demon king was allowed to see his subjects for one last time. Thus Onam was born, and it is celebrated even today, after all these years!
Significance of Onam Festival: Understanding why the Onam Festival is celebrated
Now that we know its history, it’s time to take a look at the Significance of the Onam Festival.
As we have seen, while the mythical king Mahabali was defeated by Vaman, he was respected for his honesty and benevolence. This is why, Malayalis in Kerala celebrate his ‘homecoming’ on this, the most auspicious of days for them.
The deeper significance of the Onam festival, however, lies in its attempts to unite people from several diverse backgrounds. It aims to do this, by getting them to participate in the various festivities that are held on this special day, such as the Snake Boat Races and the ever-popular Pookalam.
If you have ever been invited to a Malayali friend’s home on the occasion of Onam, you will know well the lip-smacking feast called ‘Onasadya’, that is a literal ‘treat’ of the most exquisite vegetarian fare. This feast is only one of the Onam celebrations that promote that sense of ‘bonding’ and ‘harmony’ Onam is best known to represent. Let’s discover the others, in the following section!
Onam Celebrations: Learning How Onam is Celebrated
Now’s time for the fun part! You might have gotten a whiff of the Onam Celebrations already, right? Presenting a closer look at How Onam is Celebrated.
- Pookalam
- Onasadya
- Clothes and Jewelry
- The Snake Boat Race
You read this word in the above section, and probably wondered what it meant, right? Well, itrefers to the elaborate creation of ‘floral rangoli’ in front of people’s homes and offices.
Note: Pookalam is made with fresh flowers, ranging from ‘orange-red’ to ‘blue’ hues.
This refers to the ‘grand feast’ that is held on the third day of the festival. Known as Onasadya, it sees the serving of a whopping ‘26’ exquisite vegetarian dishes on banana leaves!
Cool Fact: Among these dishes is ‘Payasam’. One of the most popular dishes of the Onasadya, it is prepared with milk, rice, coconut and sugar.
Just like on the occasion of Diwali that is celebrated in other parts of India, people in Kerala wear new clothes on the auspicious day of Onam. Further, they gift clothes and jewelry to family members, too.
Note: Women generally choose ‘Kasavu Sarees’, while men prefer to wear the traditional ‘Mundu’.
This is definitely one of the Onam festivities that people of all age groups look forward to each year.
Note: This boat race, known as Vallamkali, is also a most popular attraction for tourists.
Interesting Facts about The Onam Festival
Curious to know more about the Onam Festival? Presenting some cool Facts about the Onam Festival that every Indian should know.
- It is the ‘Harvest Season’ of the crops that heralds the arrival of the Onam Festival. If you’re wondering ‘when’ Onam is celebrated, it falls sometime in August or September.
- On the second day of Onam, the size of that Pookalam actually increases, with the designs becoming more intricate.
- On the fourth day of Onam, the ‘Tiger Dance’ is performed. This is when people paint themselves like ‘tigers’, and dance to the tunes of traditional musical instruments like ‘chenda’ and ‘udukku’.
- It is a secular festival. Yes, that means it is celebrated by people of all castes and communities!
- Just like Ganesh Chathurthi, Onam is a ten-day-long festival, with its first and last days being most important.
At EuroKids we believe that all festivals should be celebrated with only the greatest level of intensity. Partake of the Onam celebrations if you’re visiting Kerala during Onam time, or perhaps celebrate it by feasting on that Onasadya at a friend’s home!
