01 Apr 2010 - 30 Apr 2010
Sinhalese and Tamil cultures celebrate their New Year in April with elephant races, coconut games and other fun activities like pillow fights. It’s a great time to visit the northern regions, when peace pervades this otherwise tense part of Sri Lanka.
Sinhalese New Year or Aluth Avurudhu rituals begin with observance of Nonagathe. At this time, people consider it to be inauspicious to engage in any activity. They go to temples and perform religious rites to receive the blessings of the priests. Women in villages congregate to play rabana (drums) to announce the time to start performing New Year rituals.
