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Nallur Festival, Jaffna

✦ Jaffna · Cultural festival ★ Featured

Nallur Festival, Jaffna

Twenty-five days of festivities at Jaffna’s Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil, culminating in the great chariot procession.

Photo: உமாபதி / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

When it usually happens

  1. JanNot usually
  2. FebNot usually
  3. MarNot usually
  4. AprNot usually
  5. MayNot usually
  6. JunNot usually
  7. JulUsually takes place
  8. AugUsually takes place
  9. SepUsually takes place
  10. OctNot usually
  11. NovNot usually
  12. DecNot usually

Many Sri Lankan festivals follow the lunar calendar, so exact dates change every year — check the official dates before booking.

Overview

The annual festival of the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil in Jaffna, dedicated to Lord Murugan (Skanda), lasts about 25 days and usually falls in July–August, sometimes continuing into September. It is the largest Hindu festival in Sri Lanka.

Daily processions take the deity around the temple; the highlights are the chariot festival (Ther), when devotees pull an enormous decorated chariot, and the water-cutting ceremony (Theertham) that follows.

Highlights

  • Ther — the great chariot procession
  • Daily processions and temple music
  • Devotees from Sri Lanka and around the world

Good to know

  • Men remove shirts to enter the temple; everyone removes shoes
  • Dress conservatively; women should cover shoulders and knees
  • Book Jaffna accommodation early for the chariot day

References / Sources

Location

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