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Indian Festival Templates

Onam WhatsApp Templates

Onam WhatsApp templates serve Kerala's biggest festival: an Onam Ashamsakal greeting, Onam sale promos, sadhya pre-order messages, and Thiruvonam store hours. Onam drives a state-wide spending surge — from kasavu sarees to gold to the great sadhya feast — and almost no national platform ships ready-made Onam templates, leaving Kerala businesses to write their own.

Meta billing category

Templates on this page are typically approved as Marketing, billed at ~₹0.8631 per message (India).

Promotional — offers, launches, and re-engagement. Requires marketing opt-in, and an opt-out hint ("Reply STOP") is good etiquette that keeps your block rate and quality rating healthy.

Copy-ready templates

Replace the {{placeholders}} with your platform’s variables before submitting to Meta for approval.

1. Customer greeting

Onam Ashamsakal, {{name}}! 🌼 May King Mahabali's visit bring your home abundance, togetherness, and the joy of a grand sadhya. Wishing you and your family a golden Thiruvonam, Team {{store_name}} 🛶✨

Best for: Thiruvonam morning greeting, no selling.

2. Onam sale promo

🌼 Onam Offer at {{store_name}}! {{discount}}% off on {{offer_items}} through the Onam week ({{start_date}} – {{end_date}}). Onakkodi shopping made easy — order on WhatsApp, delivered across Kerala: {{shop_link}} Onam Ashamsakal! Reply STOP to opt out of offers.

Best for: Sale launch at Atham (the start of the 10-day festival).

3. Sadhya pre-order

🍛 Onam Sadhya pre-orders open at {{restaurant_name}}! {{sadhya_count}}-dish traditional sadhya on banana leaf — ₹{{sadhya_price}} per leaf. Family packs and office bulk orders available. Pre-book by {{order_deadline}} for Thiruvonam ({{onam_date}}): reply SADHYA or tap {{menu_link}} Reply STOP to opt out.

Best for: Restaurants and caterers — sadhya pre-orders sell out days early.

4. Thiruvonam store hours

Namaskaram {{name}}! {{store_name}} timings for Onam week: 🌼 {{uthradam_date}} (Uthradam): {{uthradam_hours}} — open late for last-minute shopping! 🌼 {{onam_date}} (Thiruvonam): {{onam_hours}} WhatsApp orders anytime: {{shop_link}}. Onam Ashamsakal! 🛶

Best for: Uthradam is Kerala's biggest shopping day — tell customers you are open.

5. Onakkodi / gifting push

🌼 Onakkodi for the whole family, {{name}}! Kasavu sarees, mundu, and kids' wear — our Onam collection starts at ₹{{starting_price}}, with free gift packing. Order by {{order_deadline}} for delivery before Thiruvonam: {{shop_link}} Reply STOP to opt out of offers.

Best for: Apparel and gifting in the first week of the festival.

Onam 2027: dates and send plan

Thiruvonam falls on . Dates follow the New Delhi panchang or the state holiday list; regional calendars can differ by a day.

  • Uthradom (First Onam)
  • Thiruvonam

What to send, and when

  1. Submit the Onam templates to Meta.
  2. Onam sale promo, around Atham — the first of the ten days.
  3. Onakkodi and gifting push.
  4. Sadhya pre-orders open; slots sell out days ahead.
  5. Store hours for Uthradom, Kerala’s biggest shopping day.
  6. Thiruvonam morning greeting.

Before you send

  • Malayalis in Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and the Gulf celebrate Onam too, and they are often the customers who order sadhya and onakkodi delivered. Give them their own delivery cut-offs — and remember a message to a Gulf number is billed at that country’s rate, not India’s.
  • Onam’s days follow the Malayalam calendar’s stars, so almanacs can put Atham and Thiruvonam a day apart. Confirm the date your customers’ community calendar uses before you fix a sadhya delivery date.

What each variable means

These 17 placeholders appear in the templates above. Map each one to the matching field in your WhatsApp platform before you submit for approval.

VariableWhat to put in it
{{name}}The customer's first name.
{{store_name}}Your business name, exactly as it appears on your WhatsApp profile.
{{discount}}Discount value — a percentage or a flat rupee amount, matching the surrounding copy.
{{offer_items}}Replace with the offer items for this message.
{{start_date}}First day of the offer or window.
{{end_date}}Last day of the offer or window.
{{shop_link}}Link to your storefront or catalogue.
{{restaurant_name}}Your restaurant name.
{{sadhya_count}}Replace with the sadhya count for this message.
{{sadhya_price}}Replace with the sadhya price for this message.
{{order_deadline}}Last date to order for guaranteed festival or event delivery.
{{onam_date}}Replace with the onam date for this message.
{{menu_link}}Link to your hosted menu or catalogue.
{{uthradam_date}}Replace with the uthradam date for this message.
{{uthradam_hours}}Replace with the uthradam hours for this message.
{{onam_hours}}Replace with the onam hours for this message.
{{starting_price}}Lowest price in the range, for a "from ₹X" line.

Frequently asked questions

When is the right time to start Onam promotions?

At Atham, the first of the ten festival days — Onam shopping (especially onakkodi, the new clothes tradition) spreads across the full ten days. Sadhya pre-orders should open even earlier and close 2–3 days before Thiruvonam because caterers hit capacity. Uthradam eve deserves its own "open late" message: it is Kerala's single biggest shopping day.

Should Onam messages be in Malayalam or English?

A Malayalam greeting line ("Onam Ashamsakal", "Ellavarkkum Hridayam Niranja Onashamsakal") with English or Manglish body copy is the sweet spot for most Kerala SMBs — warm, authentic, and readable for everyone. Meta approves templates in Malayalam, so fully Malayalam templates are also an option for older customer bases.

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