The Lord Ayyappa temple here, closed late Wednesday night after Mandala Pooja, is set to reopen on the evening of December 30 for the Makaravilakku festivities, the temple authorities said here.

Various rituals including "prasada shudha kriya" and "bimba shudha kriya" would be held on January 13 and 14 ahead of the Makaravilakku festival on January 15, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) said in a statement here on Thursday. TDB is the apex temple body which manages the hill shrine.

Devotees would witness the reception of "thiruvabharanam", the sacred ornaments, at Sannidhanam (temple complex) and the "deeparadhana" adorning the Lord Ayyappa idol with the jewels, on the Makaravilakku day. After Makaravilakku darshan, the hill shrine would remain open till January 20 for pilgrims to offer prayers, The TDB statement added.

Thousands of pilgrims on Wednesday offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple as Mandala pooja was performed at the hill shrine marking the culmination of the 41-day-long first leg of the annual pilgrimage season.? The pooja was performed after adorning the idol of the Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity with "thanka anki", the sacred golden attire brought to the Sannidhanam (temple complex) in a ceremonial procession on Tuesday evening. ?

The rituals were performed under the aegis of temple tantri (head priest), Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru who adorned the idol with the sacred attire. Special rituals including 'kalabhanhishekam" and "kalashabhishekam" were performed during the occasion, temple authorities had said.