Thiruvonam · Onam Festival The day Mahabali, the good asura king whom Vamana sent below, is allowed back to see that his people are still happy.
The name
The same day, written in each of the six scripts this app keeps
- English
- Thiruvonam · Onam
- தமிழ்
- திருவோணம்
- മലയാളം
- തിരുവോണം · ഓണം
Only the names actually in use are listed. A blank script is not an omission: the day may simply not be kept there, or be kept under a different festival's name.
UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place: a tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Looking for the calendar this day belongs to
This day does not fall again in the next three years at this place. A few days are tied to the solar month rather than to the civil year, so a year can hold two of them or none.
What the day is
The day Mahabali, the good asura king whom Vamana sent below, is allowed back to see that his people are still happy. The pookkalam of flower petals is laid in the courtyard through the ten days before it, growing a ring each day; on Thiruvonam the Onasadya of two dozen dishes is served on a plantain leaf, and the vallamkali snake boat races and the pulikali tiger dance fill the days around it.
- Deity
- Mahabali, Vamana, Vishnu
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
The hour
The rule in words
Thiruvonam nakshatra at sunrise in Chingam. When the star prevails on two days in the month the second is taken. The Onasadya is at midday.
The fast
No fast; Onam is the feast of the year. The sadya is strictly vegetarian, ending with the payasams.
Where the regions differ
Kerala's own festival, kept by Malayalis of every religion. The same nakshatra is marked monthly in Tamil Nadu as a Perumal day, and the Tamil Onam of a few Kerala-border districts follows the Kerala date.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it. A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.