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    The Thiruvathira Festival is a unique, women-centric festival celebrated in Kerala, South India. The festival originates from the belief that it is to pay tribute to Lord Shiva for killing the God of love. During the 7 day festival in December-January, women worship Lord Shiva to maintain marital bliss and happiness. Rituals performed by women include fasting, visiting temples at dawn to worship Shiva, midnight worship with dancing and flowers, and swinging on swings.

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    Thiruvathira Festival - Story

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    The Thiruvathira Festival is a unique, women-centric festival celebrated in Kerala, South India. The festival originates from the belief that it is to pay tribute to Lord Shiva for killing the God of love. During the 7 day festival in December-January, women worship Lord Shiva to maintain marital bliss and happiness. Rituals performed by women include fasting, visiting temples at dawn to worship Shiva, midnight worship with dancing and flowers, and swinging on swings.

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    276 views2 pages

    Thiruvathira Festival - Story

    Uploaded by

    FAROOK
    The Thiruvathira Festival is a unique, women-centric festival celebrated in Kerala, South India. The festival originates from the belief that it is to pay tribute to Lord Shiva for killing the God of love. During the 7 day festival in December-January, women worship Lord Shiva to maintain marital bliss and happiness. Rituals performed by women include fasting, visiting temples at dawn to worship Shiva, midnight worship with dancing and flowers, and swinging on swings.

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    Thiruvathira Festival

    by Padmaja Menon
    (Bangalore)

    Being an exclusively women-centric festival, the Thiruvathira Festival of


    Kerala is a unique festival in its own kind. The entire Kerala celebrates this
    significant Thiruvathira festival while enjoying the folk dance and folk music
    performances in different parts of Kerala, South India.

    The origin of the festival is based on an age-old belief that the Thiruvathira
    Festival is celebrated to pay a tribute to Lord Shiva, who killed Kamadeva,
    the mythological God of love. Every year on the asterism Thiruvathira in the
    Malayalam of Dhanu (December-January), the women of Kerala celebrate this
    festival by worshipping Lord Shiva for over a period of 7 days to maintain
    marital bliss and happiness. The first Thiruvathira festival coming after the
    marriage of a girl is known as Puthen Thiruvathira or
    Poothiruvathira and it is celebrated on a grand scale with much pomp and
    grandeur.

    The women perform several rituals all throughout the Thiruvathira Festival.
    Before sunrise the women devotees take their bath and go to the Shiva
    temple for darshan and worship the auspicious deity of Shiva. There is very
    little celebration in the houses. Except from eating preparations of chama
    (panicum milicceum) or wheat along with plantain fruits, tender coconuts,
    etc. the women fast for the whole day during the festival. They also chew
    betel leaves and redden their lips.

    The midnight worshipping of Lord Shiva with flowers, fruits and garlands is
    another important ritual, which involves performances of Thiruvathira kali or
    Kaikottikali dances. The custom called Pathirappoochoodal, wearing flowers
    at midnight and dancing and clapping around lighted brass lamp at the
    rhythm of popular and devotional Kathakali songs and Tiruvathira songs is
    mainly common among the Namboodiris and Amblavasis (temple servants)
    and Bairs ladies.

    The ladies also get immense pleasure from Oonjalattom, that is, swinging on
    an oonjal (swing) tied to bamboo sticks. This is a special item of amusement
    associated with festival of Thiruvathira in Kerala. This year (2012)
    Thiruvathira festival is on 8th Jan.
    Happy Thiruvadira girls!!

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