Sinhalese New Year, generally known as Aluth Avurudda in Sri Lanka, is a Sri Lankan holiday that celebrates the traditional New Year of the Sinhalese people and Tamil population of Sri Lanka. It is a major anniversary celebrated by not only the Sinhalese and Tamil people but by most Sri Lankans. The timing of the Sinhala Tamil New Year coincides with the new year celebrations of many traditional calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The festival has close semblance to the Tamil New year and other South and Southeast Asian New Years. It is a public holiday in Sri Lanka. It is generally celebrated on 13 April or 14 April and traditionally begins at the sighting of the new moon.
Avurudu festival sweetmeats including kavum, kokis, and kiribath (milk rice)
The blossoming flowers of the Yak Erabadu is associated with the advent of the New Year
Kokis are a popular snack eaten during the New Year
Konda Kavum another dish eaten during the New Year
Puthandu, also known as Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar that is traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamils. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the solar Hindu calendar, as the first day of the month of Chittirai. It falls on or about 14 April every year on the Gregorian calendar. The same day is observed elsewhere in South and South East Asia as the traditional new year, but it is known by other names such as Vishu in Kerala, and Vaisakhi or Baisakhi in central and northern India.
Tamil New Year decorations for Puthandu
A traditional arrangement of festive foods for Puthandu.
Tamil people decorate their homes with various auspicious colorful geometric designs from rice powder called Kolam.
A Puthandu decoration at a Hindu temple