Festivals in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is one of the countries
that are never free form lively festival a whole year round.
Visitors will have an exceptional experience for witness its
bright and colorful tradition of Sri Lanka if they stumble on the
festive period. Most festivals in Sri Lanka are related to
religion and depend on the lunar calendar, encompassing Buddhist,
Hindu, Muslim, and Christian festivals. Apart from the religious
holidays, Sri Lankan people also enjoy their national holidays,
proving well the entertainment -lover-mind of people in this
country. The followings are some major festivals of each religion
in Sri Lanka.
Buddhist
festivals
Since Sri Lanka is predominantly
Buddhist country, Buddhist festivals are more frequent. In fact,
full moon day of every month is regarded as a religious observance
for the Buddhists; it is called Poya Day. However, the main
full moon days reminiscent to the religious important events are:-
Duruthu (January):
The full moon day of January marks the first visit of the Buddha
to Sri Lanka. In memory of this visit, a procession consisting of
well-decorated elephants, dancers, and drummers is held for three
nights at Kelaniya (10 kilometers from Colombo).
Vesak (May): This
full moon day is a day of the great significant for the Buddhists
around the world for it marks the Birth, Enlightenment, and
Decease of the Buddha. The Buddhist houses on the island are
decorated with bright Vesak lanterns. The alms halls offer free
meals to passer-by and Buddhists go to temples or shrines for
religious observance.
Poson (June): Poson
commemorates the day Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka by Arahat
Mahinda. There are processions held in many parts of the
country in reminiscence to this celebrated Buddhist apostle who
took Buddhism to the Island. But the celebrating centers on this
day are at Anuradhapura and Mihintale.
Esala
(July/August): July to August is a month of religious celebrations
in several parts of the country, but the biggest and most famous
is the Festival of the August Moon or Kandy Perahera at
Kataragama in the eastern part of the country. In Kataragama,
colorful processions are held for two weeks with an amazing
"fire walking ceremony" to express respect and sacrifice
to the God Kataragama, regarded the Warrior God.
Unduvap (December):
This full day is a memorial day of Sangamitta, Asoka's daughter,
who brought a sapling from a scared Bodhi Tree in India to Sri
Lanka. The tree grown from that sapling still stands in
Anuradhapura today.
Hindu
Festivals
Hindu festivals also fill the
festive periods in Sri Lanka with its distinctly colorful
ceremonies, making the Hindu shrines across the country full of
emanating faith and happiness of people. Major Hindu festivals
are:-
Vel (July/August):
This Hindu festival is held to honor the War God Skhanda in
Colombo. The city's main streets are used for the magnificent
processions of colorfully decorated chariots, accompanied by music
and dance.
Deepavali (October/November):
Also known as the festival of lights, Deepavali festival
takes place in late October or early November. Thousand of oil
lamps will be lit to celebrate the victory of good over evil and
the return of Rama (the legendary character of the Hindu
epic Ramayana, believed to be an incarnation of Vishnu) after his
period of exile. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth is
worshipped on the third day of the festival.
Muslim
festivals
Muslim community is quite isolated from other ethnic group, their
celebration are not then displayed to public. Most of Muslim
festivals are also closely connected to religion. The main Muslim
festivals are the Milad-un-Nabi or the birth of the Prophet
Mohammed in December, Id-ul-Fitr marking the end of the holy
fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the Haj festival when
Muslims make their pilgrimages to the holy Muslim shrine in Mecca.
National
festivals
When it comes to national
festivals, the most expecting, most colorful, and most vibrant
festivals of the nation is the traditional New Year Festival. The
festival is when the two major ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, the
Sinhalese and the Tamils jointly celebrate this happy time, but in
different styles according to their original tradition.
Although the conventional New
Year is the 1st January, traditional New Year (Avurudu)
of the Sinhalese and the Tamils occurs in the 13th or 14th April
each year according to their lunar calendar. The precise days and
times of celebration of the end of the old year and the beginning
of the New Year are determined by the astrologers. The auspicious
time is marked by the entry of the Sun from the zodiac sign of
Pisces (the last phase of the Sun cycle) to Aries (the first phase
of the Sun cycle). The festive period continues for about a week.
The festival also coincides with the end of the harvest season and
the beginning of new season. People enjoy the brand new day of the
New Year by cleaning their house, buying their new clothes, and
eating special meal in a union of family members. Unlike the long,
continual Sinhalese New Year celebration, Hindu Tamil New Year is
confined to the first day of the Year and is over within hours. |
