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Thiruvonam, the tenth and principal day of Onam 2026, was celebrated in Kerala on Wednesday, 26 August 2026.
Onam is the official state festival of Kerala, a ten-day harvest festival running from Atham to Thiruvonam.
It falls in Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam calendar, which spans mid-August to mid-September.
The festival commemorates the annual return of the mythological king Mahabali, whom Vishnu in his Vamana avatar sent to the netherworld.
The 72nd Nehru Trophy Boat Race, the best-known Vallam Kali event of the Onam season, was held on Punnamada Lake at Alappuzha on 22 August 2026.
The festival begins; the first Pookalam, a floral carpet, is laid outside the home.
The Pookalam is enlarged; preparations for the festival begin.
Families shop for new clothes (Onakkodi) and gifts.
Shopping and cooking preparations intensify as Thiruvonam approaches.
Associated with Vallam Kali, the traditional snake-boat races.
Community gatherings and cultural programmes.
More elaborate Pookalams; traditional celebrations in homes and communities.
Clay idols called Thrikkakara Appan, representing Mahabali and Vishnu, are made and placed at the centre of the Pookalam.
Regarded as Onam eve; final preparations and purchases are completed.
The principal day, marked by the Onasadya feast, new clothes and prayers - 26 August in 2026.
Onam is celebrated across Kerala; the principal boat races of the season are concentrated in the backwater districts of central Kerala.
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The first month of the Malayalam calendar, spanning roughly mid-August to mid-September, in which Onam falls.
Malayalam for 'boat play'; the traditional snake-boat races of Kerala's Onam season.
The dwarf Brahmin avatar of Vishnu who, in the Onam legend, took three steps and sent Mahabali to the netherworld.
The multi-course vegetarian feast served on a plantain leaf on Thiruvonam.