 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2015) |
| Sinhala New Year සිංහල අලුත් අවුරුද්ද | |
|---|---|
_Tamil_Hindu_New_Year.jpg) Avurudu festival sweetmeats including kavum, kokis, and kiribath (milk rice) | |
| Official name | Sinhala: අලුත් අවුරුද්ද Aluth Avurudda[1][2][3] Also celebrated as Sinhala and Tamil New Year Sinhala and Hindu New Year |
| Observed by | Sri Lankans worldwide |
| Type | Cultural |
| Celebrations | Games, family gathering, family meal, visiting friends and relatives, prayer |
| Observances | The observed movement of the sun from Meena Rashiya (House of Pisces) to the Mesha Rashiya (House of Aries) Marks the end of the harvest season |
| Date | 13 or 14 April, an auspicious date in the month of Bak (April) (by the Shalivahana era) |
| 2024 date | 13 April [4] |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | South and Southeast Asian solar New Year, Puthandu |
Sinhalese New Year, generally known as Aluth Avurudda (Sinhala: අලුත් අවුරුද්ද) 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 (02 Public Holidays - Normally Shops Close for Around One Week Following the New Year). It is generally celebrated on 13 April or 14 April and traditionally begins at the sighting of the new moon.[7][8]
According to Sinhalese astrology, New Year begins when the sun transitions from Meena Rashiya (the house of Pisces) to Mesha Rashiya (the house of Aries). It also marks the end of the harvest season and of spring.
- ^ "Sinhala Aluth Avurudda". www.worldgenweb.org.
- ^ "The dawn of the 'Aluth Avurudda'".
- ^ "Aluth Avurudda". livingheritage.org.
- ^ https://island.lk/sinhala-and-tamil-new-year-auspicious-times [bare URL]
- ^ "Government Notifications - The Holidays Act, No. 29 of 1971" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Sinhala and Tamil New Year 2023, 2024 and 2025". PublicHolidays.lk.
- ^ "New Year's Festival in Sri Lanka | Work the World".
- ^ "featur03". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.