Today, August 26, 2026, Kerala is celebrating Thiruvonam, the grandest day of the ten-day Onam festival that began on Atham on August 17. Streets across the state are decked with flowers, homes smell of ghee and coconut, and families are sitting down to elaborate feasts. For Malayalis everywhere, whether in Kerala or scattered across the world, this is simply the most special time of the year.
Why Onam matters so much
Onam is Kerala’s harvest festival, marking the end of the monsoon and the start of a season of plenty. But at its heart, it’s a story: the legend of King Mahabali, a generous and much-loved ruler under whom Kerala is said to have enjoyed a golden age of equality and prosperity. According to the tale, the gods grew envious of his popularity, and Lord Vishnu, disguised as a dwarf Brahmin named Vamana, tricked him into giving up his kingdom. Moved by the king’s humility, Vishnu granted him one wish, allowing him to visit his beloved subjects once every year. Onam celebrates that homecoming. It’s less a religious festival than a shared memory of a time when, as an old Malayalam folk song puts it, everyone was equal and happy.
Historically, references to the festival go back centuries, with inscriptions from as far back as 861 AD pointing to Onam-related celebrations. Over generations, it grew from temple rituals into the community-wide, home-centred festival Kerala knows today.
A festival that belongs to everyone
What makes Onam genuinely special is how it cuts across religious lines. Hindus, Christians and Muslims across Kerala all take part: decorating homes with pookalam (flower carpets), cooking festive meals, and exchanging greetings. It’s treated less as a Hindu religious occasion and more as Kerala’s own cultural identity, a rare festival where caste and creed simply don’t factor in. Offices declare holidays, schools hold onam celebrations regardless of the community they serve, and even the Malayali diaspora in places like the UAE, US and Singapore throws itself into the festivities with equal enthusiasm.
This year’s shopping rush
Preparations this year have been in full swing for weeks. The state government put together an Onam market intervention worth roughly Rs 448 crore, running trade fairs through Supplyco in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode, alongside smaller fairs in every district, to keep prices of essentials in check. A 16-item free Onam kit was also distributed to eligible households ahead of the festival. Markets have been genuinely buzzing: reports suggest retail shopping this Onam season is up 20-30 per cent over normal months, with clothing, jewellery, electronics and groceries all seeing brisk sales. Traditional manjakodi cloth, used in rituals and decorations, has reportedly been selling fast even at its modest price point. As is tradition, August 25 (Uthradam, the day before Thiruvonam) saw the year’s biggest shopping rush, with markets packed and vendors working through the evening to clear stock.
Today, as families across Kerala gather for the Onasadya, a lavish vegetarian feast served on banana leaves, the festival is once again doing what it does best: bringing an entire state together, regardless of faith, for a shared celebration of abundance and community.
