Sinhala demala Aluth Awurudda: Celebrating Sinhala and Tamil New Year |14 April 2025
Sinhala demala Aluth Awurudda
- Celebrating Sinhala and Tamil New Year
In many Western countries, people celebrate the New Year on December 31 at midnight. But in Sri Lanka, we celebrate our New Year on April 14. It is a special celebration for Sri Lankans, like the Chinese New Year is special for Chinese people.
Not only Sri Lankans, but a few other countries also celebrate this New Year like different regions in India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal. In Sri Lanka, both Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate this festival together. In Sinhala, we say Aluth Avurudda (New Year), and in Tamil, it is called Puthandu. Both Sinhala and Tamil people celebrate this season with joy.
About a month before the New Year, the environment starts to change. The weather and the nature around us become different and more beautiful. The Asian cuckoo signals that the New Year is on the way about one month before the New Year. This bird sings a beautiful song coo hoo, and we call it the Koha. The Koha gives a big service by telling everyone that the New Year is coming. Flowers bloom on the trees, fruits start to grow, and animals have babies. Farmers also finish collecting their harvest. It is a very happy and active time for everyone. This time is called the spring season. In Sri Lanka, the time and dates for the New Year are decided by the government astrologers. They give us the auspicious times and dates.
As Sri Lankans, we believe that the sun and the moon have a strong effect on our lives. So, we believe that the New Year begins when the sun moves from the last zodiac sign Meena Rashi (Pisces) to the first zodiac sign Mesha Rashi (Aries). In the Western way, people say the New Year starts at midnight on December 31. But in Sri Lanka, we have a special time between the old year and the New Year. This time is not part of the old year or the New Year. We call this time Nonagathe or Inauspicious Time.
During this time, we do not do any work, we do not eat, and we do not buy or sell anything. This time is not good for starting anything new. Instead, we use this time to do good things like going to the temple, listening to religious chants, and doing merit. This time usually lasts about seven or eight hours.
When the New Year morning comes, we hear firecrackers. We also hear people playing rabana (a traditional drum). Everything we do has an auspicious time (we call it nekath) given by astrologers. There is also a special time to start cooking the first meal of the New Year. At that time, the mother or the wife of the house lights the hearth and starts cooking kiribath (milk rice). This is a very special moment. The whole country lights the hearth and cooks at the same time. Children help the mother, and husbands help their wives.
Even though we do these things only once a year, it brings families closer. It builds love and togetherness. While the mother is cooking, children prepare the tea table, and the father lights the oil lamp and gives offerings to the gods.
After that, at the next auspicious time, the whole country eats at the same time. Families start doing money and gift exchanges. The father serves kiribath (milk rice) and sweets to everyone in the house. The mother gives a handful of betel leaves to the father and shows her respect. Then the mother and father exchange money or gifts.
Children show respect to their parents by worshipping them. Younger brothers and sisters worship the older ones. All family members give and receive gifts. Even children who live far away come to their parents’ home with gifts and new clothes to worship them. They give a handful of betel leaves with both hands and bow down. This is a way of showing respect to elders. Before eating, we first offer kiribath and sweets to the Lord Buddha’s statue. After that, the family eats together.
When the home traditions are done, we take sweets and go to visit neighbours and relatives. We give gifts and have tea in their homes. We have special traditional sweets made just for the New Year. There are many types of kevum (oil cakes), and they are very tasty. Some food is special to different areas of the country. We also take sweets and milk rice to the temple to offer to the monks. All these customs are closely connected with Buddhism. We always give respect to the temple and monks first.
The New Year is also a time to forget old problems. People who were angry become friends again. We say sorry and forgive mistakes. Even those who didn’t talk before, can start talking again. I think this is the best time to build or fix relationships. That is why we have kept these customs for so many years. These traditions help us keep peace and unity in our families, our community, and our country. We celebrate the New Year for a few more days. There are many more customs we follow. There are special auspicious times for things like applying oil on the head and starting work after the New Year.
Since we no longer live in Sri Lanka, our younger generation does not know much about these traditions. They do not get a chance to see how we celebrate New Year in Sri Lanka. That is why we organised this New Year festival at the Gordon Square yesterday to help our children learn about our culture. Also, we want to share our happiness with everyone here in Seychelles. We want to share our food, our drinks, and our traditions with all of you.
The accompanying photos were taken by Kurtrine Albert.
Contributed