It is that time of the year again. Finally a break from work and school to celebrate with your loved ones, give gifts and say hello to the festivities that have been planned in your mind since April. It is quite a lot of pressure on the household, but it is definitely the positive kind which brings about new prospects, dreams and hopes within each individual to light.

Few shared their sentiments on what they thought of during one of the most festive season's of the year...

Ayudhya

I think Avurudu is one of the most fun times of the year. For one, both Sinhalese and Tamils celebrate it and it's done in so many diverse ways. Another reason is the games. It's almost like a holiday that comes with a one of a kind sports meet! And I really think more people should embrace the holiday in its true sense instead of using it as an excuse to go out of Colombo!

Shesha

They say that people who give you their food, give you their heart and I can't think of a sweeter way to spread seasonal joy than with a plateful of Avurudu Kevili. This is why my favourite part of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is making kevum and kokis with my grandmother and visiting our neighbours with trays full of Avurudu sweetmeats. Since 2015 turned out to be unexpectedly busy, my plans for Avurudu would be to spend time with my family. My wish for this Avurudu season is for everyone to have a blissful new year; full of happy memories and crunchy kokis!

Rishini

I think a smile on the faces of your loved ones is the best sight you could ever have, because a small curve can make everything straight. So I’m wishing nothing, but happiness to everybody in this New Year.

Ridma

Time spent with family is worth every second, plus I'm badly in need of a change and a different experience after a stressful semester in university. So mine and my uncle's family are looking forward to travelling around the country right after celebrating Avurudu. I hope my New Year vacation to be a very happy one and I wish everyone else the same!

Sudakshi & Nivandi

Since I hardly got a vacation after concluding my second year at university, I was looking forward for the Avurudu vacation. Well, to begin with, a nasty cold took over me and I am still suffering from it. It isn’t the best way to kick off a vacation but the most important fact is that I am HOME! Surrounded by the beauty of the hill country and the warmth of my family, and that’s everything I’d ask for. The hilarious thing about lighting of the auspicious pot of milk is that my mother never lets the milk overflow because we boil it on the cooker and she doesn’t want it to spill over her precious cooker. Well, my grandmother insists that the milk should overflow but then again my mother is always determined never to. On the other hand my sister and I always look forward for "ganu denu" and in our case, it’s only "ganu" and never "denu”. So Avurudu for the De Zoysa family is about trifling arguments dipped in humour like coils of rice flour mixture soaked in honey, in other words, like "pani walalu". The air in the house is impregnated with the smell of sweets and everyone is just simply happy. And I am the happiest to be home after a long time and I have a habit of repeating how happy I am. And to my greatest astonishment, my father interrupts me by saying, “No one said that we are happy to have you at home”. That pretty much sums up Avurudu at the De Zoysa’s.

Nadee

The recent experiences I encountered made me realise that we tend to waste most of our time doing nothing neither productive nor worthwhile, while most amongst us even live on borrowed time. So this New Year I intend to use my time meaningfully without taking it for granted and make every moment of my life count. As for my New Year plans, I'll be spending time with my family and will also be busy with other university activities.

Thimal

The word Avurudu holds a special place in my heart due to the fact that it takes back to my childhood almost instantly. This is due to the fact that Avurudu during my childhood took place at my grandmother’s house where all of the cousins drop by and just spend time with each other. It seems incredible how that house held around five families all those years back. This Avurudu, however is particularly sad as I will not be able to celebrate it on the account of my family going abroad for a week. Avurudu always brings with it a bundle of hopes and dreams for the entire family and I hope they will be fulfilled!

Yoshini

Avuduru is special for me because every year we go to my aunt's house in Kegalle and all my cousins and relations come there. We play games and enjoy ourselves to the fullest; however the situation is quite different this time around as we won't be celebrating it as such due to my cousin brother's health conditions. We will be going to the temple to do a Bodi Pooja and engage in religious observances instead of the celebrations as this year's Avurudu will be a commemorated as a blessing for him.

Darshika

For us, New Year is starting a fresh year ahead with God's blessings. We prepare varieties of sweets. We go to the temple which is a must on a special day like this. Relatives and neighbors get together to celebrate, which adds more colour to this special occasion. We enjoy the evening by having a display of fireworks! It's not only about all these celebrations; it's also about reflecting on the past year and trying to mend our mistakes and wishing peace and happiness to be spread all over the world.

Shevandra

Avurudu is something everyone looks forward to. In our family it's all the more so because our whole extended family gets together for it at my Mahappa's house. He is my father's eldest brother and there are six more siblings after him. What makes this Avurudu meetup unique in comparison to other regular meetups is that, simply EVERYBODY in the family makes it for it somehow. And along with the good food there's also the added bonus of the "ganu denu" ritual where our parents, aunts and uncles become rather generous. All in all, an occasion not to be missed.

Vishmi

Well our family goes all traditional for Avurudu. I'm shopping for gifts... so on the day we'll go through the "Charithra Warithra" and in the night all my relations meet at Achchiamma's place and we'll spend the rest of the day eating, gossiping and lighting firecrackers. A day well spent!

Pathanchali

One thing that I appreciate about the Sinhala and Tamil New Year (Avurudu / Puththaandu) is that even with the demanding lifestyles today, quite a number of people make an effort to celebrate the holiday in a cultural way. These traditional activities allow us to enjoy the simpler things that we seem to take for granted. And hey, we get a second chance to start all over again when it comes to New Year resolutions.

By Eshani Seneviratne