Onam
This is the biggest festival of kerala.It falls in the month of chingam(August/September)This year we celebrate onam on Sunday 26 th August 2007.It is the mark of home coming Mahabali chakravarthi.It lasts for 10 days. People clean the house and decorate the courtyard with Attapoo with different colourful flowers. They buy new cloths. Cook good food called sadya.Sadya is with kalan, olan, pradhaman. Upperi, pappadam,parippu,aviyal.sambar, rasam Tuvaran pickle(purely vegetarian food),.It is served in a banana leaf. Singing and dancing are the part of the festivl especially onapattukkal
Long ago, Kerala was ruled by a demon king named Mahabali. Prosperity prevailed everywhere in his kingdom so much so that his reign is referred to as the golden era. The growing popularity of the King made the Gods feel challenged. To prevent him from being over-powerful, Aditi, the mother of Gods pleaded with Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali. The Lord took the incarnation of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin. The magnanimous and charitable King paid no special heed to the request for three paces of land by Vamana. However, Vamana, being Lord Vishnu, took cosmic proportions and with his two steps covered the entire earth and skies. Realising that the dwarf was none other than the Lord himself, Mahabali bowed before Him, offering his head for the last step. This third step pushed Mahabali into `pathalam' (netherworld). However the demon king, in return for his good deeds, earned a boon, by which he could visit his subjects once annually. The visit of the King to the land he once ruled is celebrated as Onam with great fervour in the State. Adorning the front yard of homes with brilliant floral designs called `Athapoo' is a way of welcoming the King. This starts from the day of `Atham'. In the past years, one could see brilliant floral designs adorning street corners and even office corridors. Women and children enthusiastically partake in making the floral designs. (http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/23/stories/2006082314090500.htm)
People Sing this song "Maveli nadu vanidum kalam, manushya allarum onnu pole".English transilation from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onam
' When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,
All the people were as One.
And people live joyful and merry;
They were all free from harm.
There was neither anxiety nor sickness,
Death of the children were never even heard of,
There were no lies,
There is neither theft nor deceit,
And no one is false in speech either.
Measures and weights were right;
No one cheated or wronged their neighbor.
When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,
All the peoples formed one casteless race.'