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Sinhala and Tamil New Year
A lucky colour to wear is announced each year by astrologers, and white milk rice is the first food.
The colours of Sinhala and Tamil New Year
Sri Lanka's new year, Aluth Avurudda in Sinhala and Puthandu in Tamil, comes when the sun passes from Pisces to Aries. Sinhalese families follow a timetable of auspicious moments drawn up by astrologers and printed in every newspaper: when to light the hearth, when to eat, when to start work. The same list names the colour to wear for the new year, and it changes each year, so that one April the whole country may be in blue and the next in red or green. The first meal is kiribath, white rice cooked in coconut milk, for a pure and prosperous start. The erabadu tree flowers bright red in April and is taken as a sign that the year has turned.
#FBF9F0Kiribath whiteMilk rice, the first food of the year.#D93025Erabadu redThe coral tree that flowers for the new year.#E3A72FLamp goldThe brass oil lamp lit at the auspicious time.#3E8E41Betel greenBetel leaves offered to elders.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Sinhalese New Year" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.