Onam (Thiruvonam)

The asura king Mahabali ruled Kerala so justly that there was no poverty, deceit or inequality. The gods, uneasy at his stature, sent Vishnu as Vamana, a brahmin dwarf, who asked for three paces of land. Granted it, he grew vast, covered earth and sky in two steps, and asked where to place the third. Bali offered his own head. Vishnu pressed him into the netherworld but granted him one visit a year to his people, and Onam is that visit.

Pookalam, floral carpets laid daily and growing over ten days. Vallam kali, the snake-boat races. Pulikali tiger dance in Thrissur. Onathallu, Thiruvathirakali, and new clothes (onakkodi).

Onam Sadya, a vegetarian feast of twenty-six or more dishes served on a banana leaf in a fixed order, ending with payasam. This is the definitive element for most Malayalis.

Kerala-wide and Tulu Nadu, and among the Malayali diaspora everywhere. Notably secular in practice, Christians and Muslims in Kerala observe it as a cultural harvest festival, which is unusual for a festival with this much myth behind it.