FEW MAJOR FESTIVALS IN KERALA

1.Onam

Onam is the biggest and the important festival of the state of Kerala. It is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm all over the state by the people of all communities .According to a popular legend ,the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali ,whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

Time of Celebrations : This festival is celebrated in the months of August and September and is also called as harvesting festival of Kerala.

Major Attractions :Flower Rangoli,Elephant processions ,Dancing,Music,presentations of folk arts  ,Boat racing are the major attractions in the course of 10 days. 

2.Vishu

 In Sanskrit language "Vishu" means 'equal' and it is not only a festival for Malayalees. For Malayalees it is considered as a new year. This festival is celebrated cross in all places in India ,in Punjab it is called as Baisakhi and in Assam it is celebrated as Bihu ,where as in  Telugu states it is celebrated as Ugadi.

Time of Celebrations : This festival is celebrated in month of April

Major Attractions      : People exchange greetings ,Children enjoy firing crackers and lighting  candles .On this day many famous temples like Sabarimala, Guruvayur, Sri Padmanabha temple etc. are filled with devotees.On this day it is believed that Lord Krishna was  killed that's why they treated as Lord Vishnu Festival.

3. Thrissur Pooram Festival

Thrisssur Pooram is one of the famous temple festivals in Kerala and has been celebrated more than 200 years .This festival is celebrated at the vaddakkunnathan temple in Thissur yearly and  it is celebrated for 36 ours with a special puja ending with extreme fireworks.This festival is famous for Lord Shiva.

Time of Celebrations : This festival occurs in the month of April

Major Celebrations    : The major attraction of this festival is more than fifty clad of elephants passing through the streets of Thrissur at the sound of beating drums.

4. Theyyam Festival

Theyyam is a traditional dance festival in Kerala and is celebrated in many places of the state including Kasargod.Theyyam is considered as Dance Gods and the name has been given to it by adding two words 'Deivam' and 'Aattam' where 'Deivam' means God and 'Aatham' translates to dance.This dance is performed to honor the heroes .The dance is performed in different places of North Malabar like Karivallor, Kurumathoor, Nileswaram, Ezhom, and Cherukunnu .

 Time of Celebration : The dance is performed every year between in the months of December and April.And it is performed each day at Parassini kadava Sri Muthappan Temple in Kannur.

Major Attractions     : The major attractions of this festival is the mythological stories being enacted through the "dance of gods" performance.

   

5.Kerala Boats Festival

 Kerala  Boat festival is famous for its backwaters rides ,the main highlights of the state.The beautiful river lakes and Arabian Sea are all the part of these backwater rides, where you can also visualize the boat festivals of Kerala .Boat Festival is enhanced with different sizes of the boats,where you can see the team spirit among participants ,great enthusiasm among the riders and people cheering each other all around the place .

Time of Celebration : Mostly boats festival is celebrated in the months of July to September

Most Famous Boat places : Nehru Trophy Boat in Alleppey, Vallam Kali at Punnamada lake and PayippadJalotsavam at PayippadLake located at a distance of 35km from Alappuzha district.