Vishu

Vishu is the astronomical new year Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian state of Kerala. It is observed on the first day of the Medam (a Malayalam month) month.
It is celebrated by worshiping Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna.
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1. Vishu –Festival
of Kerala
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2. VISHU –MALAYALAM NEW YEAR
•Vishu(വിഷുinMalayalam)istheastronomicalnewyearHindu
festivalcelebratedintheIndianstateofKerala.Itisobservedon
thefirstdayoftheMedam(aMalayalammonth)month.
•ItisalsocelebratedasBisuinTulunaduregionslikeKasargod
districtofKerala,MangaloreandUdupidistrictsofKarnataka.
•ItiscelebratedunderothernamesalloverIndia.Itiscelebrated
asBaisakhiinPunjab,BihuinAssam,PoilaBaisakhinBengal,
PuthandinTamilNadu,GudiPadwainMaharashtraandUgadiin
KarnatakaandAndhraPradesh.
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3. SIGNIFICANCE
•VishuiscelebratedwhentheSunenterstheAshwininakshatra
(Aries)andisbelievedtocomeabovetheequator.
•ItfallsonthefirstdayoftheMalayalammonthMedam(usually
onApril14).
•Vishuliterallymeans“equal”inSanskrit.OnVishuday,bothday
andnightareofequalduration.Itsthedayofequinox.
•ItisallaboutnewbeginningsforMalayalis.
•Onthisday,theSunrisesstraightfromtheEast.
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4. Lord Krishna Lord Vishnu Kanikonna
•Theonsetofthisfestivalismarkedbythewidespreadblooming
ofKanikonna(Laburnum)flower.
•ItiscelebratedbyworshipingLordVishnuandLordKrishna.
•EveryyearitiscelebratedbythosewholiveinKeralaandoutside
withVishukanni,Vishukaineetam,VishuSadyaandVishu
Padakkam.
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5. HISTORY & MYTHOLOGY
•Vishuisbelievedtohavebeencelebratedsince844AD.
•ItisbelievedthatVishucelebrationsbeganinKeraladuringthe
reignofSthanuRaviwhoruledbetweenAD844and855.
•ThereareseveralmythsrelatedtothecelebrationofVishu.
AccordingtoonemythVishuisthedaywhenLordKrishnakilled
Narakasuraademon.AsperanotherbeliefVishuiscelebrated
asthereturnofSuryaDev.Accordingtoothermyths,Ravana
demonKing,neverallowedSuryaDevortheSunGodtorise
fromtheEast.Itwasonthisday,afterthedeathofRavana,the
sunstartedtorisefromtheEast.
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6. VISHUKANNI
•Theword“Vishukanni”means“thatwhichisseenfirston
Vishu”.
•ItisanimportantritualassociatedwithVishu.
•OnVishuPulari(themorningofVishu),Malayalisconsider
openingtheireyestoseetheVishukanni.
•Itcontainsmanyitemsthatrepresentsprosperityandis
auspicious,includinganidolofLordKrishnaorLordVishnu,
nilavilakku(thetraditionalbell-shapedmetaloillamps),konna
flowers,betelleaves,betelnut,fruits,rice,grains,freshlemon,
vegetables,coconut,Valkannadi(ahandmirror),aholyHindu
book,notesorcoinsanduruli(abell-shapedmetalpan).
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7. •Itisarrangedbytheeldestfemalememberofthefamilyonthe
daypriortotheVishuday.Itisalsoarrangedinmanytemplesof
Kerala.
•AlayerofrawriceisspreadintheUruli.Freshseasonalyellow
fruitslikejackfruit,pineapple,banana,lemon,goldencucumber
andyellowgourd,coconut,betelleaves,betelnut,cottondhoti
andcoinsornotesarekeptinsidethevessel.Itsdeckedwith
flowers.AphotooridolofLordKrishnaisdecoratedwithgolden
jewellednecklaceandamirrorcalled“Valkannadi”isplaced
nearit.
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8. Uruli Nilavilakku
•OnthedayofVishu,asperthetraditionalbelief,themembers
ofthefamilyhavetowakeupearlyinthemorningbysunrise
withclosedeyesandgototheworshipareaofthehousetoget
thefirstsightoftheVishukanni.Theyalsoseetheirfaceinthe
mirror.
•Thiswouldbringthemgoodluckthroughouttheyear.After
seeingtheVishukanni,peoplereciteversesfromRamayana,the
holybookoftheHindus.
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9. Valkannadi Golden cucumber
Ramayana
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10. VISHUKAINEETAM
•ItisanimportantritualduringVishufestival.
•Itisthehandsel(kaineetam)giventochildrenbytheelders.
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11. Sadya Vishu Kanji
VISHU SADYA
•ItisanimportantpartofmostfestivalscelebratedinKerala.
•Sadyaisthetraditionalfeastthatconsistsofroughlyequal
proportionofsalt,sweet,sourandbitteritems.
•Breakfastonthisdayis“Vishukanji”,aporridgemadeofrice,
coconut-milkandspicesorjaggery.
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12. Firecrackers
VISHU PADAKKAM
•PadakkaminMalayalammeansfirecrackers.
•DuringVishufestivalMalayalisburstfirecrackers.
•Childrenenjoysettingofffirecrackers.
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14. OTHER CUSTOMS
Vishukodi
•ThetraditionofbuyingnewclothesfortheoccasionofVishuis
VishukodiorPuthukodi.
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15. OLDER CUSTOMS IN VILLAGES
VishukanniVili
•ItisapracticecommonintheNorthMalabarregionofKerala.
•Vishukaniviliinvolveschildren,whogofromonehousetoother
invillages,saying“vishukaniyae,vishukaniyae”.
•AstheyarriveathousestheyaregivenKaniyappam(atypeof
ricecake)whichthechildrencollectbyusingthefreshmid-ribof
coconutleaf.
•Duringthis,thelocalastrologerarrivesandwouldhandoverthe
astrologicalpredictionsforoneyeartoeachhouse.The
predictionswillbewrittenoncoconutleaf.
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16. KaniyappamTilling agriculture land
using oxen
•Thispredictionwillbeaboutrain,fluctuationinagriculture
yields,etc..
•Theauspiciousdayfortillingtheagriculturallandbyusingoxen
iscalledPathamudayam-10
th
dayofMedam.
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17. VishuChal
•ChalmeanschannelinMalayalam.
•Thespadeisdecoratedusingricepowderandprayersaredone.
•Theseniormostmemberofthefamilyandothersenterthefield
withthedecoratedploughandspade.
•Atypeofpancakeiskeptinthefieldandsmallchannels(chal)
aremadeinthefield.
•Thisisfollowedbycoveringthefieldwithcowdungandgreen
manure.
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18. Elephant yam ChalChal
•Thefieldislaterusedtogrowriceandalsovegetableslike
elephantyam.
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19. VISHU GREETINGS
•IncaseyouwanttowishyourfriendsfromKerala,hereiswhat
youcouldsayinMalayalam-"Vishuashamsakal".Vishu
ashamsakaltranslatestogreetingsonVishu.
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