Crackers for every Tamil Nadu celebration
Deepavali is the biggest, but it is not the only day. Each guide tells you when the day falls, what families actually light, and which boxes to put in your order.
Festivals
The days the South buys crackers
Sealed Standard Fireworks boxes at the Sivakasi wholesale price, delivered for every one of them.
Deepavali
8 November 2026
In Tamil Nadu, Deepavali begins in the dark. The house is up before dawn for the oil bath, new clothes go on, a plate of sweets goes round, and the first crackers are lit at the gate while the street is still waking up.
What to buyKarthigai Deepam
November or December, in the Tamil month of Karthigai
Karthigai Deepam falls on the full moon of Karthigai, when the Krittika star rises. Homes set rows of clay agal lamps on the doorstep, the walls and the kolam, and at Tiruvannamalai the great lamp is lit on top of the hill.
What to buyPongal
Mid January, at the start of the Tamil month of Thai
Pongal is the harvest, kept over four days. Bhogi clears out the old, Thai Pongal boils new rice in milk until the pot overflows, Mattu Pongal honours the cattle with painted horns and bells, and Kaanum Pongal is for visiting family.
What to buyPuthandu
Mid April, on the first day of Chithirai
Puthandu opens the Tamil year on the first of Chithirai. The doorway gets a fresh kolam, a tray of fruit, flowers, gold and a mirror is the first thing the family sees, and the meal has mango pachadi, sweet, sour and bitter together.
What to buyChristmas and New Year
25 December and 31 December
Christmas in Tamil Nadu means midnight mass at Santhome in Mylapore and the crowds at Velankanni on the coast, and a week later Chennai sees the new year in from terraces, apartment lawns and the beach roads.
What to buyFamily occasions
The other days that need crackers
Weddings, temple festivals, housewarmings and birthdays, each with a very different list.
Weddings
Through the muhurtham months
A Tamil wedding has a few fixed cracker moments: the mappillai azhaippu, when the groom is brought to the hall the evening before, the early morning muhurtham with the nadaswaram playing, and the moment the couple leaves.
What to buyTemple festivals
All year round, on each temple's own calendar
Every town and village in Tamil Nadu has its thiruvizha. Some are great temple car festivals, where the whole street pulls the ther with thick ropes, as at Tiruvarur; most are the yearly festival of the village amman koil, with a procession, a feast and a night of music.
What to buyHousewarming
On your muhurtham day
A grihapravesam is fixed to a muhurtham, usually before or just after sunrise. The family enters with a lamp, milk is boiled on the new stove until it spills over, a sign of plenty, and the house is blessed.
What to buyBirthdays
Any day of the year
A child's first birthday, a grandparent's sixtieth, or just a big family dinner often moves down to the street or up to the terrace once the cake is cut.
What to buy- Buy direct from Tamil Nadu Fireworks, a Standard Fireworks dealer since 2010
- 25,000+ customers served
- Typically 85% below the printed MRP
- Delivered across Chennai and all of Tamil Nadu
Ready to order your crackers?
Sealed Standard Fireworks boxes, typically 85% below the printed MRP, minimum order ₹5,000. Delivery charges are not included. You pay the transport office when you collect your parcel.