Edapally Church

When the old Edapally church was built in 593 AD, there was no Fort Cochin. Even when it was rebuilt in 1080 AD there was not even a glimpse of Cochin. Folklore has it, there was sea uptill Edapally in those days. Cochin's landscape changed with the flood in 1341, with new islands coming up between Edapally and the Sea. 

Traditionally Edapally St. George Church is the refuge for the people all around the area for centuries. In our agrarian past and more nature oriented life style, St. George at Edapally offered protection from poisonous reptiles and blessed the faithfuls abundantly with rich harvest. Everybody came to St. George, irrespective of their religion.

When the new church at Edapally was consecrated on April 19th, 2015, we are happy it suits the splendour and grace in which the saint is venerated by all, over the years. The thousands who visits the Saint on the feast days have a comfortable space to sit and pray now.

Vishu

Yellow themed prosperity festival, which marks the beginning of the year, is one of the dearest and favourite festivals in Kerala. Everyone wakes up early and bows before the preset bowl of abundance which has all the summer harvest produce - Mangoes, jackfruit, flowers, kumkum and the idol of lovely Krishna. An auspicious way of starting the new year, Vishu also denotes the summer equinox.

In the 9th Century, the Travancore King convened a meeting of the scholars and set the calendar with few changes and started anew. So in Kerala, unlike the rest of the country, the new year starts in Chingam, the malayalam month, which falls in August - September in the Onam days.

The festival is a great way to connect with the past when life was more nature bound, the typical phrases and the entertainment involved in these days are great nostalgic reminders of the days and the people who went by.