Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Aluth Avurudu)
Sinhala and Tamil New Year on 13 and 14 April is Sri Lanka's biggest family festival, with auspicious-time rituals, milk rice, sweets and village games.
Aluth Avurudu, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, is celebrated on 13 and 14 April, when the sun moves from Pisces into Aries. Tamils celebrate the same day as Puthandu, and for most Sri Lankans it is the biggest family holiday of the year, bigger in feel than 1 January.
Everything runs on nekath, auspicious times worked out by astrologers and published in advance. There is a "neutral period" between the old year and the new, when people stop work, avoid cooking and go to the temple. Then, at the exact minute given, families light the hearth, boil milk until it overflows and make kiribath (milk rice). Other nekath follow for the first meal, the first transaction, leaving the house for work, and a few days later, anointing the head with herbal oil.
The table is full of Avurudu sweets: kavum, kokis, aluwa, aasmi, mung kavum and kalu dodol, shared with neighbours in a round of visits. In the afternoons, towns and villages hold Avurudu games such as climbing the greasy pole, pillow fights on a bar, tug of war, breaking the pot blindfolded, and the Avurudu Kumari pageant.
Good to know as a traveller: many shops and restaurants close on 13 and 14 April, and buses and trains are packed in the days before as people head back to their home villages. Colombo goes unusually quiet. April is also the busy "season" in Nuwara Eliya, with events running through the month.
At a glance
- When: Usually in April
- Duration: 2 days (13 and 14 April), with celebrations through April
- Venue: Homes, temples and villages across Sri Lanka
- Organizer: Celebrated island-wide
- Entry: Free