Fairs & Festivals of India 2011

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Church Festivals

KADAMATTOM FEAST

Mainly two feasts are celebrated in this church, one on the 24th and 25th of Makaram (January-February) and the other on 23rd of Medam (April-May). The former is the most important.

KALLOOPPARA PERUNAL

St.Mary's Church at Kallooppara stands in close proximity to the Kallooppara Bhagavathy temple. Inside the church, on its eastern and western wings, there are two granite slabs with some inscriptions in the Pali language. The Palli perunal and the foundation day of the Church are the two celebrations held on January 15 and July 5 respectively.

KORATTY FEAST

About 7 km south of Chalakudy, there is an ancient and beautiful village called Koratty. There is an old catholic church there built in honour of St. Mary which is locally known as "Koratty Muthy's Church". The most important festival in this church is the 'Koratty Muthy's festival celebrated during the second week of October every year.

MALAYATTUR FEAST

St. Thomas shrine at Malayattur a village about six miles to the north of Kaladi Ernakulam District is believed to be one of the ancient catholic shrines in the northern part of the state. The chief festival at the shrine is second Sunday, since the first moon, after the Vernal Equinox (March 21). The Feast, therefore, falls generally in the month of April or at times in the last week of March. The Octave is celebrated on the following Sunday. The pilgrims have to climb a hill nearly 2000 feet high and on top of it is the church.

MANJINIKKARA CHURCH FESTIVAL

The church and Dayara at Manjinikkara derives its importance from the holy tomb there. The sacred body of the late lgnatius Elise III, the holy patriarch of Antioch and all the East was interned there. Members of the Jacobite Syrian Church believe that the Holy Father was a Saint. The Church has now become one of the foremost places of pilgrimage.

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MARAMON CONVENTION

Maramon and Kozhencherry , on the banks of the river Pampa, 16 kilometers east of Tiruvalla, have for centuries been recognised as centres of Christian culture and influence. Maramon is also famous as the birth place of Palakkunnathu Abraham Maplah, leader of the reformation in the Syrian Church of Malabar in the 19th century. This village which developed into a town has the added distinction of being the venue of a religious gathering known as Maramon convention, said to be the largest Christian gathering in Asia.

It is during the month of February on the vast sand-bed of the river Pampa below the Kozhenchery bridge that the Maramon Convention is held every year.

The Maramon Convention displays co-operation and union between different sections of Church in Kerala. It fosters ecumenical outlook. It is also a source of spiritual inspiration and enlightenment for thousands.

NIRANAM FESTIVAL

Of all the places hallowed in the annals of Christianity in India, Niranam holds pride of place. In social, cultural, literary and political matters, this small village has kept up its own distinctive, pristine traditions. The fame of Niranam must have reached Syria and weighed most with St. Thomas. He is believed to have visited Niranam in 53AD, erected a crucifix founded and built a church on the site.The main religious festival is in honour of the Holy Mother on August 15. Special mass is held on that day. The birthday of St. Mary is celebrated on a grand scale on 8th September. The feast of St. Thomas is celebrated on 3rd July.

RAKKULI THIRUNAL, Pala

Rakkuli Thirunal is the terminology of Common parlance to denote the feast of Epiphany celebrated every year on the 6th January in the St. Thomas Cathedral Church at Pala. It has been the occasion of a vast fair where articles of every necessity are exhibited for sale.

ST.DOMINIC SYRIAN CHURCH FEAST, Aluva

The feast of St . Dominic church at Aluva falls on the third Sunday after the Easter. The statue of the Saint is taken out in procession on that day. The feast of "Our Lady of the Holy Rosary" also consists of a spectacular procession on the Sunday after 8th of December.

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Church Festivals of Kerala

FEAST AT ST. JOSEPH'S SHRINE, Meppadi, Waynad

The annual feast at the shrine of St. Joseph is celebrated on the last Sunday of January.

THUMBOLY FEAST

The parish of Thumboly is renowned for its beautifully constructed church, called after St. Thomas and also dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Alappuzha district. The feast of our lady which lasts for 11 days ending on December 8th.

VETTUKAD FESTIVAL

The most important feast celebrated in this church situated on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram is of Christ, the King. This feast is observed for eleven days ending with the last Sunday of October. On the tenth day, after the vespers in the church, there is a procession which goes round the parish lasting for about 1 ½ hours. On the final day there will be a solemn high mass, sermon, eucharistic procession and benediction. The attendance for this feast is well over 50,000.

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Hindu Festivals Of Kerala

ARATTU at THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (Sree Padmanabha Temple)

Aratt festival is the closing ceremony of the ten day festival in the Lord Padmanabha temple at Thiruvananthapuram. There are two such festivals every year. One takes place in the Malayalam month of Thulam (October-November) and the other in Meenam (March-April). The Arattu is a ceremonial procession of the Lord at the close of the ten-day-festival. The previous night, there is a procession called pallivetta inside the fort encircling the temple.

On the day of the Arattu, His Highness the Ex-Maharaja enters the corridor of the temple, and after some rituals, the procession takes out through the eastern gate with the accompaniment of nagaswaram, drum etc. His Highness with sword in hand and escorted by armed guards, infantry, mounted police, officers etc. leads the procession to the Sanghumugham beach. A caparisoned elephant goes in front with drum on its back, that is beaten to indicate that the God is coming in procession. Six more caparisoned elephants follow. The procession leaves the temple gate at about 5 PM and takes about an hour to reach the seashore. As the procession leaves the ramparts of the fort, a salute of 21 guns is made. On reaching the beach the ceremonial bath is taken in the sea.

AMBALAPUZHA ARATTU

The Sree Krishnaswamy temple at Ambalapuzha dedicated to Parthasarathy was established by the Chembakasserry Pooradam Thirunal-Devanarayanan Thampuran in the year 790 M.E. He offered his state to Sree Krishna and ruled the country as his regent after assuming the name of Deva Narayana. The Arattu festival of this temple commences with the flag hoisting ceremony on the Atham day in Meenam (March-April). The important Arattu Utsavam, however, takes place on the Thiruvonam day in Meenam. 'Velakali' is an important feature of this festival. The famous Ambalapuzha Palpayasam (a milk pudding of exceptional sweetness) is the important offering of this temple.

Event Date :March 21, 2009

ARANMULA UTHRITTATHI

For ages, Keralites have cherished a reverential attitude to rivers. When the weather becomes delightfully pleasant and the nature exults in her full glory, it is the apt time for Keralites to hold the Jalotsavam (water - carnivals). Boat race is in a way a display of physical might of the people who forget their differences in partaking in this sport. In that respect, the boat race is symbolic of the Jalotsavams in Kerala. The most famous is the Aranmula Snake Boat Race conducted on the Uthrittathi day of Chingom (August-September). On Thiruvonam day in Chingom when the national festival of Onam begins in Kerala, Aranmula, a village in Chengannur taluk, is unusually cheerful and gay.

The famous snake boat carnival on the Pampa held annually at Aranmula on the day of Uthrittathi asterism in connection with the Onam festival is to commemorate the crossing of the river by Lord Krishna on that day. The deity is supposed to be in all the boats that take part in the carnival and all of them are expected to arrive at their destination simultaneously. There is thus no element of competition in the Aranmula Boat Race as in other regattas held in this district and elsewhere. The race is not conducted to win any trophy or prize. The crew regard the occasion as one for rejoicing and merry-making and cheerfully row up and down the river to the tune of songs. Even though the festival is of Hindu origin and is associated with the Parthasarathy Temple, it is an all-community affair and participants include members of all classes and communities living in and around Aranmula. The festival is now being organised under the auspices of the Palli Oda Seva Sangham, a popular organisation of the boat owners. It constitutes a national festival for the people of Central Travancore and special boats and buses ply to carry the people to witness the event. During the races, the banks of the river on either side, for a distance of about three kilometers, would be thronged with millions. In recent years, the festival attracts spectators from all parts of the country and even from abroad. The Valla sadya is an important vazhipadu (offering) in the temple on this occasion.

The snake boats at the Aranmula regatta present an enchanting as well as imposing spectacle. They are of extraordinary shape. About 100 ft. long, the end of the boat is curving upwards with the front portion tapering gradually. The rear portion would be towering to a height of about 20 feet. The boats resemble snakes with their hoods raised. A 150 - crew including oarsmen, singers and ruddermen man each boat which is gaily decorated for the occasion. The occupants carry banners and ornamental umbrellas of silk and gold. It is doubtful whether there is any other national festival resplendent with such an aura of spiritual devotion, endearing friendship, sportsman spirit, majesty and rapturous delight as the Aranmula boat race. Similar Snake-boat races are organised at Champakkulam and Paippadu in Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, during the Onam days.

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Adoor Gajamela

Nine majestically caparisoned elephants take part in this spectacular procession which starts from the Parthasarathy Temple and culminates at Chennapatti temple, 3 km from Adoor. Ottanthullal other traditional art forms are also staged on the tenth day. The shrine of Partasarathy is dedicated to Lord Sree Krishna, known here in the name of Parthasarathy. Partha's is the other name for Arjun a charcter in the epic Mahabharata and Saraythy means charioteer. Lord Krishna drove Arjun's chariot during the Battle of Kurukshetra. The temple also celebrates Ashtamirohini the birthday anniversary of Sree Krishna. Parichamuttukali - a folk art resembling the martial steps, Mayooranritham - Peacock dance, Ammandudam, Velakali - dance symbolic of ancient warfare, etc are performed at the temple during the Ashtamirohini festival.

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Arattupuzha Pooram

Aarattupuzha Pooram, is the festival that sees the largest elephant stage entry in which about 70 majestically caparisoned elephants participate. Aarattupuzha is about 14 km from Thrissur town and the famous Ayyappa temple at Aarattupuzha is just 14 km from Thrissur, and it is at this temple that the annual pooram festival is celebrated.

The final pooram is conducted with sixty one caparisoned elephants decked up with bright colored umbrellas and parasols in the traditional manner, presenting an unparalleled spectacle. The temple ensemble and the traditional music lend a majestic tenor to the extravaganza. According to popular belief, the patron deities of the neighboring villages ride majestically caparisoned tuskers to arrive in a procession at the Arattupuzha village on the day of this festival.

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Church Festivals

KADAMATTOM FEAST

Mainly two feasts are celebrated in this church, one on the 24th and 25th of Makaram (January-February) and the other on 23rd of Medam (April-May). The former is the most important.

KALLOOPPARA PERUNAL

St.Mary's Church at Kallooppara stands in close proximity to the Kallooppara Bhagavathy temple. Inside the church, on its eastern and western wings, there are two granite slabs with some inscriptions in the Pali language. The Palli perunal and the foundation day of the Church are the two celebrations held on January 15 and July 5 respectively.

KORATTY FEAST

About 7 km south of Chalakudy, there is an ancient and beautiful village called Koratty. There is an old catholic church there built in honour of St. Mary which is locally known as "Koratty Muthy's Church". The most important festival in this church is the 'Koratty Muthy's festival celebrated during the second week of October every year.

MALAYATTUR FEAST

St. Thomas shrine at Malayattur a village about six miles to the north of Kaladi Ernakulam District is believed to be one of the ancient catholic shrines in the northern part of the state. The chief festival at the shrine is second Sunday, since the first moon, after the Vernal Equinox (March 21). The Feast, therefore, falls generally in the month of April or at times in the last week of March. The Octave is celebrated on the following Sunday. The pilgrims have to climb a hill nearly 2000 feet high and on top of it is the church.

MANJINIKKARA CHURCH FESTIVAL

The church and Dayara at Manjinikkara derives its importance from the holy tomb there. The sacred body of the late lgnatius Elise III, the holy patriarch of Antioch and all the East was interned there. Members of the Jacobite Syrian Church believe that the Holy Father was a Saint. The Church has now become one of the foremost places of pilgrimage.

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Good and helpful compilation of Kerla Festivals.

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About 7 km south of Chalakudy, there is an ancient and beautiful village called Koratty. There is an old catholic church there built in honour of St. Mary which is locally known as "Koratty Muthy's Church". The most important festival in this church is the 'Koratty Muthy's festival celebrated during the second week of October every year.

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Pandharpur Yatra, world famous pilgrimage to Pandharpur Vithoba temple, starts from Dehu in Pune district and continues till Pune city, Alandi and the 21-day Palki yatra ends on the previous day of Ashadhi Ekadasi at Pandharpur Vithoba Temple. In 2010, Sant Tukaram Palki yatra begins on 3rd July 2010 and on 5th July 2010 Gnaneswar Mouli Palki Yatra begins. After procession of 17 days, both these Palki Yatra will culminate in Pandharpur temple on 20th July 2010, the previous day of Ashadhi Ekadasi.

Location : Maharashtra, India

Mode : By walk