Onam Festival | Why we Celebrate Onam Festival in Kerala 2023

Onam Festival | Why we Celebrate Onam Festival in Kerala 2023

Onam is a Kerala festival that celebrates Kerala’s culture, heritage, and prosperity. It is a harvest festival that also honors the legendary King Mahabali, who visits his people once a year during this auspicious occasion. Onam is a time of joy, gratitude, and unity for the people of Kerala, who welcome their king with colorful flowers, delicious food, and festive activities.

Onam History: The Legend of King Mahabali and Vamana

Onam is a festival that celebrates the return of King Mahabali, a righteous and generous ruler of Kerala, who was defeated by Lord Vishnu in the form of a dwarf. Lord Vishnu granted him a boon to visit his people once a year during Onam.

Onam Celebration: The 10 Days of Festivities

Onam is a ten-day festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. It has four main aspects:

• Onapookkalam: A floral carpet or rangoli at the entrance of every house.
• Onasadhya: A traditional feast or banquet on banana leaves on the tenth day.
• Onakkodi: New clothes or attire worn by everyone on the tenth day.
• Onakalikal: Games and sports played during the festival by people of all ages and genders.

Onam 2023: The Date and Time

Kerala festival Onam celebration is based on the Malayalam calendar, which follows the lunar cycle. In 2023, Onam will be celebrated from August 23 to September 1, with Thiruvonam falling on August 31.

Onam Pookalam Designs: Flower Decoration Art

Onapookkalam or athapookkalam is a floral carpet or rangoli made with fresh flowers at the entrance of every house during Onam, a festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. Some common athapookkalam designs are:

• Traditional: Circular with concentric rings of colors and patterns.
• Geometric: Various shapes and figures, such as triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons, stars, or spirals.
• Thematic: A specific theme or message related to Onam or Kerala.
• Creative: A unique and original design that shows the talent and imagination of the makers.

Onam Sadhya Items

The Feast of Flavors Onasadhya is the traditional Onam food served on banana leaves on the tenth day of the festival. It consists of:

• Rice: Staple food with energy and carbohydrates.
• Sambar: Spicy lentil soup with various vegetables.
• Rasam: Tangy and watery soup with tamarind, tomato, pepper, cumin, garlic, etc.
• Avial: Mixed vegetable dish with coconut, yogurt, curry leaves, and coconut oil.
• Thoran: Dry vegetable dish with grated coconut, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and coconut oil.
• Kalan: Thick and sour curry with raw banana, yogurt, coconut, pepper, and fenugreek seeds.
• Olan: Mild and creamy curry with ash gourd, cowpea beans, coconut milk, and coconut oil.
• Pachadi: Sweet and sour dish with pineapple, grapes, yogurt, coconut, mustard seeds, and curry leaves.
• Kichadi: Spicy dish with cucumber or bitter gourd, yogurt, coconut, green chilies, and mustard seeds.
• Erissery: Thick and flavorful curry with pumpkin or yam, red beans or black-eyed peas, coconut, cumin, and curry leaves.
• Pulissery: Tangy and sweet curry with ripe mango, yogurt, coconut, green chilies, and fenugreek seeds
• Payasam: Sweet and creamy dessert with rice, milk, sugar, ghee, cardamom, nuts, and raisins.
• Pradhaman: Another sweet and creamy dessert with various ingredients such as rice or wheat or dal or banana or jackfruit or coconut or jaggery or sugar or milk or ghee or cardamom or nuts or raisins.

Onam Special Food:

The Delicacies and Treats Onam is not only about onasadhya, but also other dishes and snacks. Some of them are:

• Unniyappam: Small and round fried cakes with rice flour, banana, jaggery, coconut, ghee, cardamom, and sesame seeds.
• Ada Pradhaman: Special pradhaman with rice flakes or ada in coconut milk and jaggery.
• Pazham Pori: Deep-fried banana fritters with rice flour batter.
• Ela Ada: Steamed rice cakes with coconut and jaggery filling in banana leaves.
• Parippu Vada: Deep-fried lentil fritters with split chickpeas or chana dal, onion, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, salt, and oil.

Onam Offer: The Deals and Discounts

Onam is not only a festival of culture and tradition but also a festival of shopping and commerce.Onam’s offer can include:

• Cashback: This type of offer where the customer gets some money back after making a purchase.
• Discount: This type of offer where the customer gets a reduced price on a product or service.
• Freebie: This offer offers customers a free product or service and purchases.
• Loyalty: This is a type of offer where the customer gets rewarded for being a loyal and regular customer.
• Contest: This is an offer where the customer can win a prize or reward by participating in a competition or game.

Onam’s offer is a great opportunity for customers and sellers to enjoy the festive season and their shopping experience.

Onam Decoration: The Beauty and Charm of Kerala

One of the most beautiful and charming aspects of the Onam celebration is the Onam decoration that adorns every house, street, temple, office, school, etc., during the Onam season. The decoration includes:Flowers, Leaves, Lamps, Umbrellas, Rangoli, Balloons, Banners etc.

Why we Celebrate Onam Festival in Kerala

We celebrate the Onam Kerala for various reasons related to our culture, tradition, religion, history, and identity. Some of the reasons why we celebrate are:

• To honor King Mahabali and his golden era:
• To express gratitude and joy for the harvest:
• To showcase our culture and heritage:
• To foster unity and harmony among people

Conclusion

Onam is a festival that brings out the best and makes us proud of our identity and heritage. It is a festival that fills our hearts with gratitude and hope and inspires us to live up to the ideals of King Mahabali and his golden era. Onam is a festival that celebrates the joy and pride of Kerala.

Happy Onam to all! May this Onam bring you happiness, prosperity, and blessings!