The festivities and rituals of ’Thrissur Pooram’, the temple festival known for its majestic elephant parade and display of fireworks, have begun here with the flag hoisting ceremony.
The ceremonial ‘kodiyettam’ (flag hoisting) was held in various participating temples in the town yesterday.
Besides the flag hoisting, rituals like ‘bhoomi pooja’, ’Poorapurappadu’ and special poojas were also performed at various temples.
The ‘pooram’ will culminate on May 12 with processions and parades from various temples converging at the Thekkinkad maidan in front of the Vadakkumnathan temple in the heart of the city.
The Thiruvanbadi Devaswom and the Paramekkavu Devaswom are the major temples which compete in elephant parade and fireworks.
The first round of the display of fireworks, known as ’sample vedikkettu’ in local parlance, will be held on May 10 and 11 respectively, temple management said.
The pooram will conclude with the final fireworks in the wee hours on May 13.
