Bharanamganam Feast -Sister Alphonsamma -St.Sebastian's feast

Bharanamganam, a small village town in Meenachal taluk, has been famous for long as one of the hallowed places in Kerala. It is about 14 miles from the Ettumannoor railway station. Bharanamganam has always been a refuge of the afflicted and the miserable as well as of the faithful. It is here that the famous St. Mary's Forane Church, one of the oldest churches in Kerala dedicated to the Holy Mother, stands, attracting thousands of pilgrims from all over the country. It was very recently that this sacred place shot into greater fame and glory when the faithful servant of God, Sister Alphonsa attained eternal bliss.

The important annual festivals of this church are the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, celebrated on the 9th of Novermber, and the Feast of St. Sebastian on the 20th of January.

Nearby is a Sree Krishna temple. It is said that the celebration of the St. Sebastian's Feast in this Church has traditionally some connections either with this temple or with a Namboodiri family which once proposed by the side of the temple. Probably this tradition is based on the fact that Kolvilakku (lamp with long handles) of high artistic perfection used in this church for the "circumambulation ceremony" during the feast of St. Sebastian, closely resembles the one used in the temple procession. The feast of St. Sebastian and the Arat of the temple are celebrated more or less during the same period in the month of Makaram every year