South Indian Festival "ONAM"

1. 1. Onam is the biggest festival in the South Indian state of Kerala, where I am from. Onam usually falls on the month of August. The dates are different every year. This festival last 10 days and the South Indian people celebrates this holiday with a open heart. Everybody wears new clothes during this festival. They also dance, sing, decorate their home with flowers, boat races, play games, cook and eat too much. The story behind Onam is, According to the legend, Kerala witnessed its golden era during the reign of King Mahabali or Maveli. Everybody in the state was happy and prosperous and the king was highly regarded by his subjects. Apart from all his virtues, Mahabali had one shortcoming. He was egoistic. However, for all the good deeds done by Mahabali, God granted him a boon that he could annually visit his people with whom he was so attached. What now peole call Onam. Best thing about Onam is the food. This is like a Thanksgiving dinner but the South Indian call it Onamsadya. This usually is a big lunch instead of dinner. This meal is served on a banana leaves instead of plates and people eat with their hands instead of using forks and knives. Each family makes about 9-15 different dishes and all these dishes are vegetarian. South Indians do not eat meat during this holiday. When the time come for Onam, people usually decorate thier homes with different types of flowers and they make different types of shapes and symbols. When the decorations are done people gather around it and they would sing and dance. Everyone decorate thier homes differently and it looks so beautiful when its done. I love this holiday because everyone gets along with everybody. People are so happy and thankful for this day. Everyone gets to show off their new clothes and the new clothes must be in beige or cremish color. We have so many different holidays. Other than Christmas, Onam is the holiday people celebrate with joy and peace.