Vishu Festival
The New Year festival of Kerala is known as Vishu. Various regions of India have got a unique of celebrating the regional NewYear. Kerala is no exception as people of this state celebrate Vishu with great pomp and show. It is the astrological New Year Day of Kerala. The day has a close association with the Gregorian calendar as Vishu signifies the transit of Sun towards the zodiac.
Celebration of Vishu
The celebration of Vishu features a number of events. Vishukkani is the most significant among them. It includes ritual arrangements of a number of items like raw rice, golden cucumber, fresh lemon, metal mirror and a number of other items. The celebration also includes performing a number of customs. People taking part in this festival wake up at dawn and visit the puja rooms with their eyes closed. This is done to ensure that they see Vishukani first before seeing anything else.
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The celebration of Vishu also includes bursting crackers, having a feast of various food items like Veppampoorasam (a preparation of neem) and Mampazhapachadi (a sour mango soup). In fact, it also has the practice of elders gifting crackers to the young ones. Elders also distribute money to the young members of the family.
The celebration of Vishu is an integral part of the rich culture of Kerala. Tourists visiting the place during the festival get a close look of the rich culture and tradition of the place. Indianholiday.com offers online information about Vishu.
| Festivals in April 2012 |
| Festival Name | Festivals Day/Date |
| Ram Navmi | 1 Apr, Sunday |
| April Fool's Day | 1 Apr, Sunday |
| Arattupuzha pooram | 4 Apr, Wednesday |
| Bengali New Year (Bohag Bihu ) | 4 Apr, Wednesday |
| Mahavir Jayanti | 5 Apr, Thursday |
| Good Friday | 6 Apr, Friday |
| Hanuman Jayanti | 6 Apr, Friday |
| Easter | 8 Apr, Sunday |
| Baisakhi | 13 Apr, Friday |
| Jalianwala Day | 13 Apr, Friday |
| Tamil New Year | 13 Apr, Wednesday |
| Vishu Festival | 14 Apr, Saturday |
| Ambedkar Jayanti | 14 Apr, Saturday |
| Tulip Festival | 16 - 21 Apr, Monday(starting) |
| World Haemophilia Day | 17 Apr, Tuesday |
| World Heritage Day | 18 Apr, Wednesday |
| Earth Day | 22 Apr, Sunday |
| Akshay Tritiya | 24 Apr, Tuesday |
| Parshuram Jayanti | 24 Apr, Tuesday |
| Manav Ekta Divas | 24 Apr, Tuesday |
| Marwar Fair | 28 - 29 Oct, Sunday-Monday |
| Railway Week | April |
| Sai Baba Puja Utsav | April |
| Samta Diwas | April |
