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Which festival is known as 'Light festival' of Kerala..?

Thrikarthika, or Trikartika, is the festival of lights celebrated in Kerala on the Kartika Nakshatram (star) in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam (November – December). It usually falls on the full moon day in the month and on the day all the houses, streets and temples are well lit with traditional oil lamps. The festival is mainly observed in South Kerala.

It is the birthday of Lord Subramonya. Special offerings and celebrations will be held on the day in Subramonya temples. Some people do claim that is dedicated to Shakti – popularly known as Bhagavati in Kerala. Some people claim it is an ancient form of nature worship. In the past people used to make use of the shell of Marotika to light lamps. Now the Marottika shell is widely replaced by clay diya (known as idinjil or chirathu) and candles. On Thrikarthika day after sunset several lights will be lit in small earthen vessels - chirathu in temples and houses. The sight of lights from a number of small vessels is really a fascinating.

In South Kerala, torches made of coconut leaves will be lit and planted in paddy fields on this day. It is also a celebration related to Mahalakshmi. 

The stems of banana (plantain) and tender leaves of coconut tree are used to decorate the Thrikarthika lamps. The lamps are placed on the banana stems supported by coconut leaves.
People who have domesticated animals also decorate the cowshed and other places used by animals. Special food is prepared using Tapioca, elephant yam and other tubers with lot of grated coconut on the day and is known as Kartika Puzhukku.
The full moon night and the Thrikarthika lamps complement each other giving an awe inspiring feeling to the viewers.

On the same day, the famous Kerala Deepam and the Tiruvannamali Mahadeepam is held in neighboring Tamil Nadu.


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