•
Vishu (1st day of
Medam month): Malayali New Year (traditional) •
Pathamudayam (10th day of
Medam month) • Ramayana Masam (whole month of
Karkidakam) •
Karkidaka Vavu (month of
Karkidakam): Rituals performed to honour ancestors •
Chingam Onnu: Malayali New Year (as per the Kollam Era calendar) •
Onam (month of
Chingam): Annual Harvest and Cultural Festival •
Vinayaka Chaturthi (month of
Chingam): Birth of Lord Ganesha •
Sri Krishna Janmashtami (month of
Chingam): Birth of Lord Krishna •
Navaratri (month of
Kanya): Saraswati Puja and Vidyarambham •
Deepavali (month of
Thulam): Festival of Lights •
Guruvayur Ekadashi (month of
Vrishchikam): Festival related to Guruvayur Temple •
Thrikarthika (month of
Vrishchikam): Festival of Lights •
Thiruvathira (month of
Dhanu): Nakshatra (Star) of Lord Shiva •
Makaravilakku (1st day of
Makaram month): Festival related to Sabarimala Temple • Makara Bharani (month of
Makaram): Festival related to Devi •
Thaipooyam (month of
Makaram): Festival related to Lord Murugan •
Maha Shivaratri (month of Kumbham): Festival related to Lord Shiva
Vishu (), celebrated on the first day of
Medam,
Onam (), celebrated on the star Thiruvonam on the first day of
Chingam, and
Deepavali (), celebrated on the first day of
Thulam, are three of the major festivals. The first day of
Chingam is celebrated as the
Kerala New Year, replacing Vishu (), which was considered the beginning of a year until 825 CE. Vishu is still celebrated as the traditional Malayali New Year, as it is astronomically significant, 'Medam' being the first among the 12 rashis (the
zodiac signs corresponding to the 12 months of a solar year).. Deepavali is traditionally celebrated during Thulam which is the months of October and November. The
Makaravilakku festival is celebrated in the
Ayyappa Temple at
Sabarimala on the first day of
Makaram month. This marks the grand finale of the two-month period to the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The 1st of
Makaram marks the winter Solstice (Uttarayanam) and the 1st of
Karkaṭakam marks the summer solstice (Dakshinayanam) according to the Malayalam calendar (according to the astronomical calendar, the summer solstice is on 21 June, and the winter solstice on 21 December). Chaitram 1 (usually coinciding with 20 March) or Medam 1 (mostly coinciding with 14 April, for 2019 it was on 15 April), both in the proximity of the date of the vernal equinox (21 March), mark the beginning of the new year in many traditional Indian calendars such as the
Indian national calendar and the
Tamil calendar. When the
Government of Kerala adopted Kolla Varsham as the regional calendar, the first of
Chingam, the month of the festival of Onam, was accepted as the Malayalam New Year instead. ==Derived names==