Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു), the traditional Malayali New Year, is a Hindu festival celebrated in the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

Tulu Nadu Tulunad or Tulu Nadu, also called Bermere sristi or Parashurama Srishti, is a region and a proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (plural 'Tuluver'), speakers of Tulu, a Dravidian language, ar ...

region of Karnataka, and

Mahe district Mahé district ( ml, മയ്യഴി ജില്ല) is one of the four districts of the union territory of Puducherry, India. It consists of the whole of the Mahé region. Mahé is the smallest district of India by size. The total area ...

. The festival marks the first day of Medam, the first month of the

Malayalam Calendar The Malayalam Calendar is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, the beginning of the Kollam Era. There are many theories regarding the origin of the era, but according to recent schola ...

followed in Kerala.Major festivals of Kerala
Government of Kerala (2016) It therefore always falls in the middle of April in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years d ...

on 14 or 15 April every year. The festival is marked by family time, preparing colourful auspicious items and viewing these as the first thing on the Vishu day (Vishukkani). In particular, Malayalis seek to view the golden blossoms of the Indian laburnum (''Kani Konna''), money or silver items, cloth (pattu), mirror, rice, coconut, cucumber, fruits and other harvest products. Days before Vishu, people start bursting fireworks at their houses and it concludes with lot of fireworks on day of Vishu.People wear new clothes (''Koti'') and they eat a feast called '' Sadhya''. In ''Kaineettam'', elders give a small amount of pocket money to children.

Etymology and origin

''Vishu'', from Sanskrit ''Viṣuvam'', literally means 'equal', and it connoted to the celebration of spring equinox in the past. The spring equinox however occurs 24 days before the day of Vishu, on 21 March/ Meenam 7, due to precession of equinoxes.

Religious significance

The Vishu marks the first day of the astronomical year and hence

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

and his incarnation

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

are worshipped on the day of Vishu, as

is considered as the God of Time. It was on this day that

killed the demon Narakasura and because of this Krishna idols are kept in the Vishu kani. The current Vishu year is 01-01-5124 Vishu Vasrhsam (same year as Kali Yuga, as of April 15, 2022). Records that Vishu has been celebrated in Kerala occurred from the reign of Sthanu Ravi since 844 AD, when the new era calendar (Kolla Varsham) was initiated replacing the older calendar with 13 months in a year.

Practices

Vishukkani

The Malayalam word "kani" literally means "that which is seen first", so "Vishukkani" means "that which is seen first on Vishu". The traditional belief is that one's future is a function of what one experiences, that the new year will be better if one views auspicious joyful things as the first thing on Vishu. Therefore, Malayali's spend the day before preparing a setting, usually a tray, of auspicious items. This setting is the first thing they see when they wake up on the Vishu day. The Vishukkani setting consists of items such as

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, golden

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

, golden

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

cut open, jack fruit, Kanmashi,

betel The betel (''Piper betle'') is a vine of the family Piperaceae, which includes pepper and kava. The betel plant is native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious perennial, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel p ...

leaves, arecanut, Aranmula kannadi (''Vaalkannadi''), golden colour ''Konna'' flowers ('' Cassia fistula'') which bloom in the season of Vishu, ''nilavilakku'', idol of Vishnu, and other auspicious items. Mirror in Vishukani is a symbol of seeing yourself as a part of abundance you see in the form of Pani. The tradition is that elders light the lamps after waking up, then wakes up juniors in the family. As soon as you wake up, you walk to the kani eyes closed, and sees Kani as the first scene of the year.

Vishu Sadhya

The Sadhya (feast) is a major part of all Kerala festivals. However, special dishes called Vishu ''Kanji'', Thoran and ''Vishu katta'' are also made. The Kanji is made of rice, coconut milk and spices. Vishu katta is a delicacy prepared from freshly harvested rice powder and coconut milk served with jaggery. For Thoran, the side dish, there are also mandatory ingredients. Other important Vishu delicacies include ''Veppampoorasam'' (a bitter preparation of

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus '' Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

) and ''Mampazhappulissery'' (a sour or ripe

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

soup) Even temple offerings called ''bewu bella'', include a mix of sweet jaggery, bitter neem, and other flavors. The mixing of sweet, salty, sour, bitter and astringent flavors for the new year Vishu meal is similar to the ''pacchadi'' food prepared on new year day such as Ugadi by Hindus in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

. These traditional festive recipes, that combine different flavors, are a symbolic reminder that one must expect all flavors of experiences in the coming new year, that no event or episode is wholly sweet or bitter, experiences are transitory and ephemeral, and to make the most from them.

Padakkam

The word 'Padakkam' in Malayalam means firecrackers. Firecrackers are burst during Vishu the same way north Indians burst firecrackers during Diwali.

Konna

Konna ('' Cassia fistula''), commonly known as golden shower is the flower of the Vishu festival.

Other customs

Uruli festive arrangement of flowers, Malayali Hindus in Kerala

The tradition of buying of new clothes for the occasion of Vishu is called ''Puthukodi ''or'' Vishukodi.'' There is also a popular tradition of elders giving money to younger ones or dependents of the family. This is called ''Vishukkaineetam''. Another tradition is of giving alms and contributing to community charity. Children enjoy setting off firecrackers.

Pathamudayam

Pathamudayam is celebrated on the 10th day of Medam Month in Malayalam Era and 10th day after Vishu. According to the tradition, ‘Pathamudayam’ is the day when the sun is most powerful and astrological science support the believe. To symbolise the ten sunrises from Vishu, traditional oil lamps with 10 wicks are lit r every house.

Related holidays

Vishu, which used to be the Kerala new year day, is celebrated elsewhere but called by other names. It is called

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi (Punjabi: ), also pronounced Baisakhi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April and sometimes 14 April as a celebration of spring harvest primarily in Northern India. Further, ot ...

by Hindus and Sikhs in north and central India, which marks the solar new year, and Tamil New Year day called Puthandu.
- Crump, William D. (2014)
Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide
MacFarland, page 114 The new year day on or next to 14 April every year, is also the new year for many Buddhist communities in parts of southeast Asia such as Myanmar and Cambodia, likely an influence of their shared culture in the 1st millennium CE.Vishu is known as Bishu which is celebrated on Baisakh 1 of Nepal 🇳🇵 calender in Farwest Province of Nepal.It is the most important festival in that region. However, this is not the universal new year for all Hindus. For some, such as those in and near Gujarat, the new year festivities coincide with the five day

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

festival. For many others, the new year falls on Ugadi and Gudi Padwa, which falls a few weeks earlier.

References

{{New Year by Calendar Festivals in Kerala New Year in India April observances New Year celebrations