Onam is a popular Malayali harvest festival celebrated in south India. A major annual event for Keralites, it is the official festival of the state and includes a spectrum of cultural events. The festival commemorates the homecoming of the legendary King Mahabali and starts on the Atham nakshatram in the Malayalam month of Chingam and ends on Thiruvonam.
It's a 10-day festival where everyone comes together and celebrates with great enthusiasm and devotion. The main event of Onam is the Thiruvonam feast, which is prepared using traditional recipes handed down from generation to generation. But first, you must prepare your home and buy some pooja essentials online for the pooja room and the festivities. Here are some essentials to help you get started:
- Clean and decorate your home. Onam is a time for new beginnings, so creating a clean and clutter-free environment is important. This is an auspicious occasion, so you want your home to be as clean as possible. Since creating a clean and clutter-free environment is important, take some time to freshen up your home.
Start by decluttering each room of your house and deep clean your house from top to bottom. Take special care to dust and polish your furniture, and ensure there are no cobwebs. Once your house is sparkling clean, you can start decorating for Onam. After giving it a good cleaning, add some festive decorations to amp up the look.
- Ready your pooja room. This is the room where you will perform your daily pooja or prayers during Onam. Make sure it is clean and clutter-free so you can decorate it with fresh flowers.The most popular flowers for Onam pookalam are marigolds, roses, and chrysanthemums. The most popular flowers for Onam pookalam are marigolds, roses, and chrysanthemums. Add festive cheer to it by decorating it with flower garlands and traditional Kerala lamps. You can also set up classic murals, vintage paintings, or rustic wall art decor to give your home a unique and traditional look.
- Gather your pooja items. You will need a few basic items for your pooja, such as an oil lamp, incense, flowers, and a copy of the Onam story (the Thiruvonam Puranam). You can find these items at the local stores or get all your pooja essentials online at great prices from Punam Metalcrafts.
- Fill your home with colors of fresh flowers. The traditional way to decorate for Onam is with fresh flowers. Garlands made of fresh flowers are hung around the entrance to your home, and flower petals are used to create beautiful patterns on the floor called pookalam. If you don't have time to make a pookalam, you can buy one from a florist.
- Set up your Onam altar. Your Onam altar should be decorated with fresh flowers, fruits, and leaves. Place a picture or statue of Mahabali in the center of the altar, and surround him with items representing Onam's four main symbols: Thiruvathira star, golden mango, elephant, and snake.
- Decorate your walls. One popular way to celebrate Onam is by decorating your home with traditional Kerala art and crafts. To add a touch of elegance to your home, try displaying traditional Kerala silverware ornaments on your walls. Or, if you're looking for something more playful and festive, try installing some colorful traditional metal wall hangings, colorful textiles, wooden sculptures, or paintings, which you can find on our website.
- Make special food offerings. Onam is a time of feasting, so make sure to prepare plenty of food! So, one of Onam's most important aspects is preparing traditional food items. Offerings of fruits, vegetables, and sweets are made to the deities during pooja rituals are a must so remember to buy them beforehand. Also, the key part of the Onam festivities is the Sadya, a grand feast served on banana leaves.
But for that, you'll need to make payasam, a sweet dish with milk, rice, and sugar. Payasam is traditionally served during religious ceremonies and is a key part of the Onam feast. Next, you'll need to make aviyal, a vegetable dish with various vegetables like potatoes, carrots, beans, and cucumber. Aviyal is usually served with rice and is a staple of Onam cuisine. So start planning your menu early and ensure you have all the ingredients you need to prepare a delicious Sadya.
To wrap it up
Onam is just around the corner, and if you want to be prepared for the festivities, write off all these essentials from the checklist and get ready for Onam in no time!
