Holidays in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is host to many Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Muslim festivals. Many of them which are the full moon poya days, are based on the lunar calendar so dates vary each year according to the Gregorian calendar. Hindu festivals are depended on a complicated astrological calculation, so the exact dates are decreed around a month.
Muslim festivals are also timed according to local sighting of the phases of the moon and vary from year to year. The Sri Lanka Tourist Board publishes information of festivals and events on its website.
Other than that, the fixed dates for holidays are: New Years Day – 1st of January Independance Day – 4th of February Labor Day – 1st of May Good Friday – March-April Christmas Day – 25th of December
| January |
Duruthu Perahera
Held on the poya day in January at the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara in Colombo and second in importance only to the huge Kandy perahera (procession), this festival celebrates a visit by the Buddha to Sri Lanka.Thai Pongal Held in mid-January, this Hindu harvest festival honours the Sun God. |
|
| February |
Galle Literary Festival
Past attending authors have included travel writers ColinThubron and Pico Iyer.Navam Perahera First celebrated in 1979, Navam perahera is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest peraheras. Held on the February poya, it starts from the Gangaramaya Temple and travels around Viharamahadevi Park and Beira Lake in Colombo. |
|
| February/March |
Maha Sivarathri
In late February or early March the Hindu festival of Maha Sivarathri commemorates the marriage of Shiva to Parvati. |
|
| March/April |
Easter
The Christian Good Friday holiday usually falls in April, but can fall in late March.Aurudu (New Year) Both New Year’s Eve on 13 April and New Year’s Day on 14 April are holidays in Sri Lanka, coinciding with the end of the harvest season and the
start of the southwest monsoon; see also the boxed text, below. |
|
| May |
Vesak Poya
This two-day holiday – poya day and the day after – commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. Puppet shows and open-air theatre performances take place; the high point is the lighting of paper lanterns and oil lamps. The Adam’s Peak pilgrimage season ends at Vesak. |
|
| June |
Poson Poya
The Poson poya day celebrates the bringing of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Mahinda. In Anuradhapura and Mihintale, thousands of white-clad pilgrims ascend Mihintale. |
|
| July/August |
Kandy Esala Perahera
The Kandy Esala Perahera, Sri Lanka’s most important and spectacular festival, is the climax of 10 days and nights of celebrations during the month of Esala. This great procession honours the sacred tooth relic of Kandy; Smaller peraheras are held at other locations around the island.Vel This festival is held in Colombo and Jaffna. In Colombo the gilded chariot of Murugan (Skanda), the god of war, is ceremonially hauled from Pettah to Bambalapitiya. In Jaffna the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil has a 25-day festival.Kataragama Another important Hindu festival is held at Kataragama, where devotees put themselves through the whole gamut of ritual masochism; |
|
| October/November |
Deepavali
The Hindu festival of lights takes place in late October or early November. Thousands of flickering oil lamps celebrate the triumph of good over evil and the return of Rama after his period of exile. |
|
| December |
Adam’s Peak
The pilgrimage season, when pilgrims (and the odd tourist) climb Adam’s Peak, starts in December.Unduvap Poya This full-moon day commemorates Sangamitta, who brought a cutting from the sacred bodhi tree, still standing in Anuradhapura. |
|
Source: © Lonely Planet Publications – Sri Lanka
