Sinhala & Tamil New Year
Sri Lanka’s
two main ethnic groups-the Sinhalese and Tamils – celebrate a common New Year coinciding
with the passage of the Sun from Pisces to Aries in April. The dawn of the New
Year is celebrated with the observance of age-old customs, folk dances and
theatre, and the playing of traditional games in every village and hamlet.
Special foods and sweetmeats are delightful feature of this event.
April is the
month of fruits and flowers, as well as
of festivals for all races and religions in Sri Lanka. Christians celebrate Easter , with Roman Catholic conducting a splendid
passion play similar to that of Oberammergau at Duwa, off Negombo; and Hindus
celebrate the Pattini Festival, chiefly
at Badulla.
This is the
warmest month of the year, during which many residents of Colombo retreat to
the cooler climes of the hill country, especially to Nuwara Eliya: scene of
numerous seasonal activities such as tennis and golf tournaments, horse races
and exotic flowers shows. The towns of Bandarawela and Diyatalawa are also
popular resorts.
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