Deepavali
Deepavali, the Hindu festival of lights, fills Sri Lanka's kovils and Tamil neighbourhoods with oil lamps, sweets and fireworks every October or November.
Deepavali, the festival of lights, is one of the biggest Hindu festivals in Sri Lanka and a public holiday. It falls in October or November, on the new moon of the Tamil month of Aippasi, and celebrates the victory of light over darkness. In the Tamil tradition followed in Sri Lanka, it remembers the day Lord Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.
The day starts before sunrise with a ritual oil bath, then everyone puts on new clothes and goes to the kovil. Homes are cleaned and decorated with kolam patterns at the door, and in the evening, rows of small clay oil lamps are lit along doorsteps and walls. Families share sweets and savouries such as murukku, laddu and payasam with neighbours and friends, and fireworks go off late into the night.
In Colombo, the lead up is the best time to see it. Sea Street and the streets around Pettah Market, as well as Wellawatte, are packed with shoppers buying saris, jewellery and sweets. On the day, kovils such as Sri Ponnambalawaneswaram Kovil hold special poojas. In the north, Jaffna celebrates on a bigger scale, with the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil at the centre.
Visitors are welcome at the kovils. Remove your shoes, dress modestly, and expect men to be asked to remove their shirts in the inner shrine.
Deepavali is also a big festival in the hill country, where many families on the tea estates are Tamil. Estate kovils are decorated, families gather in new clothes, and towns such as Hatton, Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawela are busy with shoppers in the days before, so the hills are a good place to see the festival away from the cities.
The small clay lamps lit at dusk are called agal vilakku, and many families still fill them with oil and cotton wicks rather than using candles. If you're invited into a home, bringing a box of sweets is a kind gesture, and expect to be offered plenty in return. Fireworks can go on until late, so pick a quieter street if you need an early night.
At a glance
- When: Usually in November
- Duration: 1 day (shopping and preparations the week before)
- Venue: Hindu kovils and Tamil neighbourhoods, Colombo and Jaffna
- Organizer: Tamil Hindu community
- Entry: Free