Before I narrate the story behind this, wishing everyone a Happy Onam!
Photo is my own
Onam is a harvest festival celebrated in the southern state of Kerala in India to mark the occasion of harvesting and at the same time to remember the historical event of a King who ruled the area many many centuries ago.
The story goes that the King Mahabali, was a demon king, ruling the area who was getting stronger and more powerful with each passing day which instilled fear, worry and uncertainity in the hearts of the devas ruling heaven. With fear and worry over how powerful the King was getting, the Devas approached the Supreme Lord, Mahavishnu to seek his help in solving this problem and finding a way to stop the King.
Mahavishnu upon listening to them, assured them not to worry over this any further and informed all that he would be incarnating on Earth as an Avatar and in this form of his, he will bring a solution to this problem.
And this was the incarnation of the Lord Vishnu known as Vamana, who was so small in height. Vamana went to the King who was having a prayer and listening to people's issues and offering them gifts.
Vamana asks the King that he needs some place for himself and asks the King if he can offer it tor him. The King not realising who Vamana was, tells him to a ask for anything that he wants to which Vamana replies saying I need land for myself, which I will measure and take for self which will be as big as three feet measurements.
The King asks him to go ahead and measure anywhere he wants with the feet and can take them. Vamana, who is the Lord himself, now starts growing in size, he grows so gigantic that with his first feet measurement, he measures the entire earth itself and then the heavens and then ask the King that there is no more place to measure with his feet for the third time, the King bows down in front of Vamana and ask him to put his feet over his head and measure and take himself.
The lord then outs his feet on top of hos head and pushes him down into the netherworld of Patal, or otherwise what can to be referred to as Hell. While he sends the King away in this manner to hell, he knowing that the King loved the people of his Kingdom very much, gives him a boon that every year around this time, on one single day, he would be allowed to come back on Earth to see his people and his Kingdom which is also what the day of Onam is.
I hope you found the story interesting. The photo above shows an arrangement of flowers that is usually done during Onam.