Sinhala and Hindu New Year celebration

 Our year connected to nature: Sinhala and Hindu New Year celebration

As the environment is renewed with the sound of the Bak Mahe Koho, the most beautiful time of the year for us in Sri Lanka is the Sinhala and Hindu New Year. This is a wonderful cultural festival that shows the inseparable bond between nature and man to the world.

The Sun and the New Year

According to astrological beliefs, this festival is celebrated to mark the transition of the Sun from the sign of Pisces to the sign of Aries. This can also be called a festival of gratitude, which is celebrated by the farmers after the arrival of spring and the completion of the harvest, seeking the blessings of the gods.

The most unique feature of our year is that the entire country performs auspicious rituals at the same time.

• Nonagatya: A time spent giving priority to religious rituals.

• Cooking and eating: This is when milk is poured into a new pot, and the whole family sits down to eat.

• Working and making deals: This symbolizes starting the new year with optimism.

New Year's table and sweets

Each of these sweets related to our culture, such as kavum, koks, mung kavum, asmi, and kiribath, is a result of our village culture and the ingenuity of the housewife. Sharing sweets with neighbors further enhances the harmony and goodwill of the community.

New Year Games and Fun

Traditional games like pillow fighting, tug of war, tambourine playing and swing riding turn the village into a sea of ​​laughter. These games are a great opportunity for children, even those stuck in the technological world, to cooperate with each other.

The New Year teaches us unity and brotherhood. Forgetting old grudges, offering a betel nut, and bowing down to elders to start a new year is a noble cultural element of ours. It is the responsibility of all of us to preserve these valuable customs for future generations.