Thiruvathira

The Thiruvathira festival falls on the asterism Thiruvathira in the Malayalam month of Dhanu (December-January). Thiruvatira is the women's festival of Kerala. The origin of the festival is shrouded in obscurity. The people celebrate this festival upon age-old tradition and they do it with great joy and respect for the past. It is considered to be high auspicious to worship Siva and the devotees go to the temple before sunrise for 'darshan'. According to legend Thiruvathira is the commemoration of the death of Kamadevan, the cupid of our national mythology. Another conception is that Thiruvathira is the birthday of Lord Siva. On the festival day the ladies take a morning bath, the morning bath during the season while the climate is extremely cold makes their body cool and composed. In the noon a grand lunch is served. The essential ingredients of it is being ordinary ripe plantain fruits and a delicious preparation of arrow-root powder purified and mixed with jaggery or sugar and also coconut. The women spend the whole night singing and dancing. Thiruvathirakali also known as Kaikottikkali is a dance in which a group of women dance in a circle around a lighted brass lamp. They are dancing to the rhythms of the songs they sing. They wear the traditional dress, consisting of two pieces, dhoti and an upper garment across the breast and look elegant and sprightly for the game. The night long music and dance is interspersed with a ceremony called Patirappoo choodal. It is a ritualistic wearing of flowers at midnight. The participants take the morning ablution and with it they conclude the festival.