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Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Aluth Avurudda)

✦ Island-wide · Cultural festival ★ Featured

Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Aluth Avurudda)

Sri Lanka’s traditional New Year in mid-April — auspicious times, milk rice, sweets, family visits and village games.

Photo: Amila Tennakoon / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

When it usually happens

  1. JanNot usually
  2. FebNot usually
  3. MarNot usually
  4. AprUsually takes place
  5. MayNot usually
  6. JunNot usually
  7. JulNot usually
  8. AugNot usually
  9. SepNot usually
  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 Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Aluth Avurudda / Puthandu) is celebrated in mid-April, when the sun moves from Meena (Pisces) to Mesha (Aries) in the traditional calendar. 13 and 14 April are national holidays.

Families follow auspicious times (nekath) announced in advance — for lighting the hearth, boiling milk, eating the first meal of kiribath (milk rice) and sweets such as kavum and kokis, and for exchanging gifts. Villages and towns hold traditional games, and many people travel home, so shops and offices close for several days.

Highlights

  • Kiribath, kavum, kokis and other New Year sweets
  • Rituals at auspicious times (nekath)
  • Traditional games (Avurudu kreeda)
  • April holiday season in Nuwara Eliya

Good to know

  • Many shops, offices and some restaurants close for a few days
  • Trains and buses are very crowded before and after the holidays
  • Hill-country hotels (especially Nuwara Eliya) are busy in April

References / Sources

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