Festival calendar
Festival
Onam in the Netherlands
Also called Thiruvonam, ഓണം.
Onam runs ten days from Atham to Thiruvonam, which is the main day. The sadya is the centre of it — a vegetarian meal of twenty-odd dishes served on a banana leaf, in a set order.
Banana leaves are the constraint here. They come frozen from the Asian supermarkets in Amsterdam and The Hague, or fresh to order with about a week's notice, and at Onam they go quickly. The Malayali associations in Eindhoven, Amsterdam and Rotterdam run public sadyas that are worth knowing about if you would rather not cook.
What we arrange
- A full sadya, cooked to the traditional order, on banana leaf
- Banana leaves ordered a week ahead rather than hoped for
- Flowers for pookalam, enough for several mornings
- Payasam — ada pradhaman or palada, said in advance
- A hall if you are feeding thirty rather than eight
Sourcing takes about 21 days for this one, so tell us by .
Dates
What this usually becomes
Also coming up
- Karva Chauth 2026Thursday, 29 October 2026 — A day-long fast that ends when the moon is sighted — which in November here is not guaranteed.
- Dhanteras 2026Friday, 6 November 2026 — The day you buy metal. Two days before Diwali, and the start of the five days.
- Diwali 2026Sunday, 8 November 2026 — Five days, one main night, and Dutch fireworks law that catches everyone out the first year.
- Places we can arrange thisWhere a puja, a dinner or a photoshoot actually works, with the practical detail that decides it.
Planning Onam?
Tell us how many people and where. We'll tell you what's possible on the date, and what it costs.
Start on WhatsApp