The major festivals of Tamil Nadu :
Saraswathi Pooja
The festival is celebrated in the honour of Saraswathi - the Goddess of arts and letters. Educational institutions and academies of art naturally take a lively interest in these celebrations. The goddess is invoked in every home and hearth during the celebrations.
Chitri Rai Festival
The festival is held in the famous
Madurai Temples and lasts for 10 days during the Tamil month of chithirai Major attractions is the procession of lord kallazhagar otherwise known as lord Vishnu from Azhagarkoil to give away his sister goddess Meenakshi, in Marriage to Lord Sundareswarar.
Mahamagam Festival
A holy festival that will bring you to Kumbakonam once in 12 years - the temple city that gets its name from "Kumbha" - the divine pot. Legend has it that Brahma, the Creator, held a pot containing nectar and the seed of creation. Shiva. in the form of a hunter shot an arrow at the pot - spilling the nectar into the famous Mahamagam tank at the Adi Kumbeswarar Temple.
Dance Festival - Mamallapuram
The festival begins on the 25th of December in Mamallapuram lasts for 6 weeks Sit before an open-air 'stage' created 13 centuries ago the incredible monolithic rock sculptures of the Pallavas, next to the sea in this aesthetic event : Bharatha Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and ancient city of Mamallapuram. Lovers of dance will be treated to a very unique and unforgettably Odissi, presented by the very best exponents of the art besides folk dances.
Arubathimoovar Festival
Literally, 'Arubathimoovar' refers to the 63 saints of Shiva canonised for leading exemplary lives of devotion and penance. Bronze figures of these 63 saints adorn the magnificent Kapaliswar Temple at Mylapore,
Chennai. Once, every year, they are carried in a colourful procession through the streets of Mylapore.
Summer Festival
The summer festival might find you in the 'Queen of Hill Stations', the evergreen
Ooty; the exquisite
Kodaikanal or the salubrious heights of Yercaud - where boat races, flower and fruit shows are specially organised. Also, a splendid opportunity to go trekking in any of Tamil Nadu's other hill stations that promise unforgettable holidays off the beaten track.
Saral Vizha (Kuttalm or Courtallam)
A festival that makes a celebration out of a simple, daily ritual bathing! And indeed, a bath at the picturesque Courtallam waterfalls is not an ordinary event. The healing waters of the roaring Courtallam are famed for their medicinal properties.
Kanthuri Festivals
A truly secular festival - where devotees flock to the shrine of saint Quadirwali, believed to do equal good to people of all faiths. One of the descendants of the Saint is chosen as a Peer or spiritual leader and is honoured with offerings. On the tenth day of the festival, the Saint's tomb is anointed with sandalwood - and later the holy sandal paste, renowned for its healing powers, is distributed to everyone.
Velankanni Festivals
VELANKANNI FESTIVAL Wondrous legends surround the church-the most famous being that of the ship-wrecked Portuguese sailors, who in the 16th century, vowed to build a great shrine for the Virgin Mary, for saving their lives in a terrible storm. The Velankanni festival attracts thousands, clad in orange robes to the sacred spot where the ship landed. Equally famous are the Virgin Mary's miraculous healing powers - earning for the church the name 'Lourdes of the East'.
