Temple festivals of Kerala

Kerala which is often referred to as 'God's Own Country' has many Hindu temples. Many of the temples have unique traditions and most hold festivals on specific days of the year. Temple festivals usually continue for a number of days. A common characteristic of these festivals is the hoisting of a holy flag which is then brought down only on the final day of the festival. The largest festival in kerala in Pooram category is Arattupuzha Pooram at Arattupuzha temple and in Ulsavam category is Vrishchikolsavam of Thripunithura Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple. Some festivals include the most famous of these being the Thrissur Pooram. Temples that can afford it will usually involve at least one richly caparisoned elephant as part of the festivities. The idol of the God in the temple is taken out on a procession around the countryside atop this elephant. When the procession visits homes around the temple, people will usually present rice, coconuts and other offerings to the God. Processions often include traditional music such as Panchari melam or Panchavadyam. The festivals of Kerala are famous around the Globe due to its diversity of experience.[1]

View of a huge kettukala from Nooranad Padanilam Sivarathri

Major temple festivals

Common religio-cultural festivals celebrated all across Kerala are:

FestivalDate^
Arattupuzha Poorammarch/april
VishuApril 14/15
MahashivaratriFebruary/March
Krishna JanmashtamiAugust/September
NavaratriSeptember/October
DeepavaliOctober/November
^In Kerala, festival dates are decided in accordance with the
Malayalam calendar and the local traditions and customs.
Overlapping Gregorian calendar months are used instead.

The major temple festivals of Kerala are:[2]

FestivalVenue
VrishchikotsavamSree Poornathrayeesa, Tripunithura
Arattupuzha PooramArattupuzha, Thrissur
MakaravilakkuSabarimala, Pathanamthitta
Attukal PongalaAttukal Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
VrishchikotsavamSree Poornathrayeesa Temple
Kaaliyootu Major Vellayani Devi Temple
UtsavamsPadmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram
AshtamiVaikom Temple, Kodungalloor Bharani
Chembai SangeetholsavamGuruvayoor
Chettikulangara Kumbha BharaniChettikulangara Devi Temple, Mavelikara
Maha ShivaratriAluva Temple, Maradu
Maha ShivaratriPadanilam Parabrahma Temple, Mavelikkara
PonkalamaholsavamAnikkattilammakshethram, Mallappally
Thiruvabharana GhoshayathraValiyakoickal Temple, Pandalam
VelaNenmara, Vallanghy
Kalpathi RatholsavamKalpathi, Palakkad
Adoor GajamelaSree Parthasarathy Temple, Pathanamthitta
Thaipooyam MahotsavamSree Subrahmanya Swamy Temple, Harippad
Thaipooyam Mahotsavam, KoorkancherryKoorkancherry Sree Maheswara Temple, Thrissur
Machattu MamangamMachattu Thiruvanikavu Temple, Thrissur
Ezhara PonnanaEttumanoor Mahadeva Temple, Kottayam
Mannarasala AyilyamSree Nagaraja Temple, Mannarasala, Alappuzha
Ayilyam Festival at VettikodeSree Nagaraja Swami Temple, Alappuzha
Ochira KaliOchira Parabrahma Temple, Kollam
Malanada KettukazchaPoruvazhi Malanada Temple, Kollam
Kodungallur Kavutheendal and BharaniKodungallur Bhagavathy Temple, Thrissur
Thirunakkara ArattuThirunakkara Mahadeva Temple, Kottayam
Pisharikav KaaliyattomPisharikavu Temple, Koyilandy

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.