SINHALA AND TAMIL NEW YEAR

 We celebrate the sun festival in the month of April. Sinhala and Tamil new year is the biggest celebration in Sri Lanka. Usually, Sinhala and Hindu New Year falls on April 13th and 14th, symbolizing the ending of the old year, and the beginning of the New Year. It's based on the sun's movement from the Meena Rashiya to the Mesha Rashiya Sri Lankan welcomes the new year in April. It's the much awaited time of the year with the pleasant call of Koha.

 The celebration is full of firecrackers and fireworks. The New Year rituals initially start with a neutral period called the "Nonagathe". So, during this period people keep off from all the work and engage in religious activities. This is the time slot between the ending of the old year and the dawning of the New Year.

We prepare in advance to welcome the New Year from cleaning and repainting their households to buying new clothes for family members and preparing traditional confectionery.

When the New Year Auspicious time arrives, the New Year is welcomed by lighting the hearth and the boiling of fresh milk in the newly purchased clay pot that symbolizes prosperity. The spilling of the milk from all sides of the plot is considered to bring good luck to the entire family.

Food plays a major role in new year celebrations in Sri Lanka. A huge table with Kiribath, bananas, sweets, kavum, kokis, aggala and etc. 

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is a season of celebration and joy for everyone all over Sri Lanka irrespective of age, color or religion. This is the only opportunity to strengthen the bond between the Communities.