The celebrations for New Year are a huge part of every culture on earth and in Sri Lanka, the girls got together to enjoy the Tamil New Year celebrations with chalk drawings and plenty of delicious food, served hot from the pot.
Tamil New Year is a very important occasion for Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka. It is a reflection of the end of the past year, and a celebration of the new year to come, marked by a period of several hours in between the two that is referred to as the “neutral period” (nonagathya). During this time, everyone devotes themselves to religious activities.
The celebrations begin with boiling milk in a clay pot. This symbolises prosperity for the coming year, marked by the milk spilling over the sides of the pot. The milk is then used to boil rice. When the food is ready, everybody sits down to enjoy the milk rice together. This symbolises unity.
Traditionally, the elders will then give their blessings to the younger ones. The eldest member of the household will also anoint oil on the heads of everyone else, to bring about their good health. Following this, people engage in fun-filled activities, such as creating chalk drawings, or having a sack race or a tug-of-war, which everyone is encouraged to take part in.
