By Honorary Reporter Minnath Azeez from Sri Lanka
Photo = Aluth Avurudu, Minnath Azeez

Seollal (Lunar New Year) in Korea is approaching, but Sri Lanka also celebrates its Sinhalese New Year (Aluth Avurudu) in April. This holiday lasts for three days like Seollal from April 12-14. Despite being a religious festival observed by Buddhists and Tamils, this cultural event is one that all Sri Lankans take part in.

 
Unlike Seollal, Avurudu is based on the Sinhalese astrological belief that signifies the beginning of the new year when the sun moves from the house of Pisces to that of Aries. This day also marks the end of the harvest season and spring.

Since astrology is a big part of the celebrations for this day, the traditions observed before and after the new year are done at auspicious times. On the eve of Avurudu, people perform religious acts like visiting a temple dressed completely in white to gain blessings from monks or bathing after applying a herbal mixture on the head and body. The latter practice is considered to have a purifying effect on body and soul.

Redda and Hatta are the traditional attire worn during Singhalese New Year (Aluth Avurudu)

The traditional female attire on this holiday is redda (short top) and hatta (long fabric wrapped as a skirt). The traditional male outfit comprises a shirt and a sarong that is also wrapped below the waist. The celebration begins by boiling fresh milk in a newly purchased clay pot placed over a hearth. The milk is left to boil until it spills over from all corners, and this is said to bring luck to a family.

Traditional Sri Lankan food is served on this holiday. (Minnath Azeez)

For food, Sri Lankans make kiribath, or rice cooked with coconut milk and served with a pickle made with chili and onions and eaten at an auspicious time. Tamils serve a different rice dish called pongal, a sweet porridge made with mung beans and jaggery. Other traditional foods like kavum, kokkis, mung kavum and aasmee are also arranged on the table like the traditional ritual food prepared by Koreans on Seollal. 

Women play the traditional drum rabbana. (Flickr)

Buddhists bow to their elders on this day by first offering betel leaves and crouching on the ground to prostrate as a form of respect and gratitude to elders. Money is also given by the elders to wish luck in business and other activities.

Traditional games during Avurudu include kotta pora, a pillow fight done by balancing on a bamboo setup made specifically for the game; olinda keliya, a board game played with seeds; swinging; tug of war; and playing the rabbana (drum). Other games include breaking a pot with one's eyes closed, eating buns hanging on strings with hands tied behind the back, weaving coconut leaves, balancing a lime on a spoon and keeping an eye on an elephant with eyes bound by a cloth.

The ritual hisa thel gama involves putting herbal oil on someone's head, usually by the eldest member in the family. This tradition is seen as a way of reconnecting with nature at the beginning of the new year.

Going to work after this celebration has its own auspicious time, too. Before setting out to work, people dress in a color deemed auspicious according to astrological belief and leave home facing a specific direction at a specific time.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.