Festivals of Tamilnadu
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Tamil Nadu – the state of temples, beaches and divine beauty – is blessed with a rich culture and a traditional past. The calendar in Tamil Nadu is dotted with numerous colourful and culturally important festivals, most of which are 'Temple Festivals'. These festivals are promoted not only to draw countless tourists from all over the world but also to retain the age old traditions and values. The state has something new to offer every month. You are greeted here with glory and the grandeur. The colourful festivals serve as an occasion for family reunion. Apart from Deepawali, Holi, Vinayaka Chathurthi and Navaratri.
Celebrated for four consecutive days in the month of January, Pongal is basically the harvesting festival of the state. It starts on 'thai', the first day of the Tamil month. People thank all the factors like sun, air, water, and earth for a good crop and make various offering to them. While praying for prosperity, they offer a meal called 'Pongal' to the Gods, which is made of rice, jaggery and milk.
Celebrated in Tiruchirappalli on the 4th day of Pongal, Jallikatu Bull Fight is an interesting ceremony. People tie bundles of money on horns of violent bulls and then try to snatch it from there.
This cultural festival, as the name suggests, is dedicated to Lord Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer and a form of Lord Shiva. The festival is organized in the temple city of Chidambaram in the month of February. The celebration starts from the day of Mahashivaratri and lasts for the next five days.
Popular as the festival of light festival of Tamil Nadu, this nine days celebration features all the houses illuminated with many lights and lamps. Another prominent attractions of this festival are beautiful and grand processions of many deities. Celebrated in the month of November/December, the festival is a real treat for eyes.
This interesting festival starts on the December 25 of every year and is conducted on all Saturdays, Sundays and Government holidays, till the first week of February. It features a huge gathering of dancers and musician from India and abroad. Folk dances of India are the prominent attractions here.
As the name suggests, the Summer Festival is celebrated in the months of May-June in places like Udhgamandalam, Kodaikkanal, Yercaud, Elagiri Hills etc. This is the ideal time when one can enjoy the best of cultural programmes, adventure sports, boat races, flower shows and fruits shows of Tamil Nadu.
The popular town of Krishnagiri organizes the interesting Mango Festival in the last three days of June. Various mangoes are kept on display during the occasion for buying and selling.
This festival starts with the beginning of the monsoon. When the water falls on rocks and tiny droplets are sprinkled into the air, you can see a fog-like appearance in the atmosphere. It is called 'Saral' in Tamil. The falls are known for medicinal values. It is enjoyed with various cultural programmes, competitions, etc.
This three day festival is celebrated in the month of October in Kanniyakumari, the Southern tip of the Indian sub-continent. People visit the confluence of the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and take a bath here. The festival is marked by a series of cultural programmes.
The festival goes with its name and displays a number of varieties of tea. Several other cultural extravaganzas, cuisines of the South and the pleasant climate add more flavour to this three day festival.
