Onam is related with King Mahabali who was ruling kerala in a time. He was an Asura king but was very nice and trueful. During his ruling time it is said that people don't even lock their house in the night because , there was no thieves,no corruption,no betrayal. And all people lived unitedly, without the difference of rich and poor. All where facing a good time. Like wise the king was so good that he will give anything to anyone. At that time the Hindu lord Mahavishnu decided to test King Mahabali. He came to earth as vamana a poor dwarf, and went straight to King Mahabali. He told the King that he has nothing and he want three feet of land to live. The king hearing this laughed and told Vamana to take three feet of land from where ever he wishes. Suddenly Vamana began to grow and he covered the whole earth by one foot and covered the sky with other foot. And asked Mahabali where is the space for the third foot. By seeing all these, the king understood that Vamana is not an ordinary person, and Vamana has come to test him so the king without hesitating showed his head to keep the third foot. Vamana kept his third foot on the King's head and the King was pushed down under the earth (pathala). The king after going to Pathala asked Vamana his true identity, Suddenly Vamana vanished and Lord Mahavishnu stood before Mahabali. Mahabali was overjoyed by seeing this. The lord told Mahabali that he wanted to test Mahabali and he has won in that. The lord also asked Mahabali to ask any boon for himself. Mahabali told the lord that, he loved his people very much so he wanted permission to visit Kerala once in a year. And the lord gave permission for that. It is that day ie. the day Mahabali visits kerala is celebrated as Onam.

Onam is a celebration of Ten days. It comes in the month of "Chingam" according to Malayalam calender. People put flower mats in front of their houses, to welcome the King. There will be competition for the laying of flower mats; Keralites all over the world will be celebrating this ten days will pomp and gaiety. They will wear new dresses, will be visiting almost all temples which they can, they will be performing lot of dances like Thiruvathira kali Thumbi Tullal etc. to name a few and the most important thing is the grant lunch they will be having on the Thiuruvonam day. Which is also called the Fourth Onam. Whatever may happen they will not miss the Grant lunch. There is a saying in Malayalam that "Kanam Vittu Onam Unnanam" which means "We should have the Thiruonam lunch even if we have to sell all our properties". They give that much importance to the lunch on the Thiruonam day.

VISHU

Among the various Hindu festivals in Kerala, Vishu is unique. This is a symbol of the unostentatious Malayali and so Vishu is free from the usual pomp and show and merry-making associated with other festivities. Secondly, this one has Nothing to do with religion. Also the first day for Medam is the unchangeable day of Vishu, whereas other festivals are determined according to the lunar asterisms on which they fall.  This day is the astronomical new year day and it is celebrated as such. The Malayalis believe that the fortunes for the year depend upon the nature of the object one sees first in the morning of Vishu Day. So preparation is everything! . Raw rice is put in a circular bell-metal vessel known as 'Urule' and over it a folded newly washed cloth is spread. A golden coloured cucumber, betel leaves, betel nuts, metal mirror, yellow flowers of Konna tree (cassia fistula), a Grandha (book of palm leaves) and a few gold coins are then placed over the cloth in the vessel. Then some oil is put into two coconut halves, a few wicks are lit and this illuminates the goodies inside. A metal lamp filled with coconut oil is kept burning by the side of the vessel as well. The morning of the Vishu at about 5 O'clock, one of the members of the house, usually the eldest female member, not surprisingly, lights the lamp and looks at 'Kani' ( an omen). She wakes up other members, one after another and the Kani is shown to everyone of them, taking particular care not to allow anyone to look by chance at other things. Even the cattle are not deprived of the privilege, as the Kani is taken to the cattle-shed and placed before them to have a dekho.  The next item is the giving of handsel (Kaineetom). The eldest member of the family takes some silver coins and gives them to a junior member with some raw rice and Konna flower. This is repeated in the case of other members and they in turn give such handsel to their juniors, relatives, servants etc. After this the children begin to fire crackers.    In the morning then it's all talk, bath and people put on their forehead the marks of ashes and sandal paste and go to the temple for worship. After worship, they prepare a feast which is moderate and elegant. In certain parts of Kerala, where the paddy cultivation commences after the monsoon, there is an observance called chal (Furrow) closely associated with Vishu . This is nothing but the auspicious commencement of the agricultural operations, in the new year .

DEEPAVALI

Deepavali, the festival of lights, is held throughout India but in Kerala, this is celebrated only by Hindus. It falls on the preceding day of the New Moon in the Malayalam month Thulam (October-November) and it commemorates the destruction of the demon called Narakasura by Lord Krishna. As Lord Krishna killed Narakasura on the Chaturdasi day (the fourteenth lunar day) it is also known as Narakachaturdasi.    Before sunrise, all in the house have their oil bath and put on new clothes. Sweets are then served followed by bursting of crackers. 
  The word 'Deepavali' means an array of lights. The people of Dwaraka greeted Lord Krishna with illumination and rejoicing in honour of his victory over arakasura. The darkness of the Chaturdasi night compelled them to use many lamps on the occasion, and subsequently the illumination became a part of this celebration.   It is the practice in south India to consume a preparation of dry ginger and jaggery soon after the oil bath on the Deepavali day. Dry ginger and jaggery form the Nivedya (offering) for Dhanwantari, the great exponent of Ayurveda. The  separate observance of this day has come to an end and enjoying the preparation of dry ginger and jaggery fallen to the succeeding day namely Deepavali.    Deepavali may have deeper significance than what is popularly believed. At the time of the festival the sun is in the house of Thulam (Libra i.e. the scales) which signifies commerce, hence the association of Deepavali with merchants and the Goddess of wealth. The darkness and light symbolise ignorance and knowledge respectively.     As the light dispels darkness, ignorance is replaced by knowledge in the tradition of the prayer in the Upanishad, 'Thamaso ma Jyothirgamaya', "Carry us from the darkness to light". Some people say that Deepavali, the festival of lights, symbolises this prayer.

NAVARATHRI

The Navarthri dedicated to Devi, the Divine Mother, is celebrated all over India. In some places it is called Dussera, in some other places `Kalipuja' or `Saraswathi Puja' and in still others, `Ayudha Puja'. During Navarathri days the Divine Mother is worshipped in one or the other of her different manifestations namely Durga, Saraswathi, Kali, etc. The Puja in connection with Navarathri is known as Bhuvaneswari puja which means, the worship of `Universal Mother'. 
 The festival is celebrated during the first nine days in the bright half of Aswina or September-October. The last three days of the Navarathri are called Durgashtami, Mahanavami and Vijayadasami, and they are considered more sacred than the other days for Devi worship. It is believed that by offering prayers to Devi during these three days one can attain the full benefits of observing the Navarathri rites for the whole period.    People of Kerala celebrate Navarathri with style. The Saraswathi puja and Ayudha Puja are performed. The Goddess Saraswathi is worshipped as the Goddess of Learning, the deity of Gayathri, the fountain of fine arts and science, and the symbol of supreme vedantic knowledge. The importance of Ayudha Puja (the worship of implements) on this occasion may be due to the fact that on the Vijayadasami day, Arjuna took back his weapons which he had hidden in a Vani tree in order to lead a life in disguise for the promised period of exile. It is believed that one who begins or resumes his learning to work on the Vijayadasami day will secure a grand success as Arjuna did in Kurukshetra war.   On the Durgashtami day a ceremony called Poojavaipu is performed in the evening. In a village, generally, it is done only in certain households like the Brahmins who have a reputation for learning, in temples and also sometimes in the village schools. The members of other houses in the village attend the ceremony performed in these houses or institutions.   In a well-decorated room, books and grandhas (holy books) are tastefully arranged with a picture or an image of Goddess Saraswathi in front. Then sometimes weapons and implements are kept by the side of books and garandhas. A Puja is performed to Saraswathi during which fruit, beaten rice, roasted paddy (malar), jaggery etc, are offered to Her after which they are distributed among those present. The following day, Mahanavami, is totally devoted to the worship of Saraswathi. Pooja is performed both in the morning and in the evening and many more items such as rice, payasam, thirali, etc are offered to Devi.   On the Vijayadasami day after a Puja in the morning, the books and implements are removed from the room and this ceremony is called `Puja Eduppu'. The time for the break up of the puja marks the beginning of learning and work and this moment is considered auspicious.   Some members of the household write the alphabets on sand, particularly the children, and read a few sentences from sacred books. Similarly the craftsmen and other skilled workers do some work using their implements. According to custom it is only after this ceremony that the children are entitled to read or write.  There are certain communities which celebrate the festival on all days of Navarathri. Images of Gods, animals and toys of different variety are arranged for exhibition and this performance is called `Koluvaipu'.    The perfect place for the Navarathri celebration is at Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple at Thiruvananthapuram. Apart form the usual pujas and rituals, classical music recitals are held on the Navarathri mandapam every night during the festival in which luminaries of Carnatic music participate in a practice which was started by Maharaja Swathithirunal .

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