Sri Lankan New Year
20 March 2009

New Year in Sri Lanka usually falls on April 13th or 14th every year. It was celebrated a month early at Informatics, because of timing considerations in the school.

Nevertheless, the pomp and pageantry that accompanies the celebration, is an objective that goaled the organizers of the celebration.

According to Sinhalese mythology, the New Year begins when the sun moves from Meena Rashiya (the house of Aries) to Mesha Rashiya (the house of Pisces). It also marks the end of the harvest and spring. Rains enlivens the spirit of the nature as flowers bloom, trees get laden with fruits and bounties of farmers are full.

There is a general consensus now among all in Sri Lanka to treat New Years as a national festival though it is intermingled with Buddhist and Hindu religious practices. Since New Year is not a religious festival confined exclusively to a particular faith as it can be celebrated by all the religious and ethnic groups in Sri Lanka as a common national festival. It’s unique features are made use of to promote friendship and mutual understanding among all.

New Year is an event where all the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims and others in Sri Lanka - people of all ethnic groups and faiths could and should celebrate as a common festival to foster national unity. It is on this note that we celebrated this event on the 20th of March and got an exposure to Sri Lankan culture at its finest.

This event was put together by members of the Sri Lanka student community who industriously put a very good show together, handling everything from financing to event management. The school applauds the camaraderie and espirit-de-corps that the students demonstrated in putting together a series of items for the celebration and their involvement with other student communities, namely those from Nepal, Myanmar and China who add more vibrancy and a different flavour to the event. It was also heartwarming to see students from other nationalities present at the event; they were there to learn and appreciate the culture of an important nation. The event was attended by students from India, Nepal. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria, and of course a large contingent from Sri Lanka.

The event commenced with the traditional lighting of the oil lamps, led by the Managing Director of the Singapore School Operations, Mr. Alan Phua, and got off to a roaring start after the welcome messages of the guests of honour. To keep the audience from getting too hungry, the committee had a bevy of Sri Lankan ladies distribute delectable home made sweets, as the programme progressed.

There were many entertaining events presented through the evening, from traditional depictions of the new year in Sri Lanka to cultural dance presentations, all of which saw much audience participation. One of our IT lecturers, Ms Shwe even sportingly danced out an item for the celebration, a traditional Myanmar piece, which must have taken considerable practice. Such commitment is admirable. At the end of the celebration, the buffet table was opened to the many hungry folks, with the dance floor being opended just after.

Students and staff alike had a very good time at the celebration and in the words of the chief of the organizing committee, things will get even better in next year's celebration. Hats off to our young event organizers!

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