St Sebastian's feast (Arthunkal feast)

St Andrew's Church, Arthunkal is one of the biggest pilgrimage centres of Kerala. Though the church is in the name of St Andrew, it is the St Sebastian's feast, that has brought fame to Arthunkal. The feast attracts tens of thousands of deists from all parts of Kerala and from the neighbouring states of Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Every year, the feast gets off to a colourful start on the 10th January to the accompaniment of native music and fireworks. The main feast is celebrated on the 20th January, when the statue of the saint is taken in procession. The octave is on the 27th January. It is for the main feast that most of the pilgrims come. The Octave is considered the feast of the local people

In good old days, most of the pilgrims used to come walking along the coast. Those from the eastern regions used to come in country boats up to Chertala or Alappuzha and walk from there. The people of Arthunkal used to arrange local accommodation for the pilgrims in their compounds, as most pilgrims used to spend one day or two in Arthunkal after their long journey. This used to give rise to a community life spread across the whole village.

Now, with modern means of communication, the pilgrim class that come walking has practically disappeared. But there are many who still choose to trek the whole distance to the church as an act of special deism.