Threading cosmos and colours; the story of auspicious shades in the Sinhala-Tamil New Year
Every April, Sri Lanka comes into a quiet harmony, in a traditional celebration that synchronizes people across two major cultures inhabiting the island. The Sinhala-Tamil New Year is such a ubiquitous holiday for Sri Lanka, that even communities that don’t celebrate it stop to enjoy the pause, as the entire island shuts down businesses and schools. The cities empty while the suburbs and villages fill up with reunited families, neighbours, and friends. Despite celebrating the dawn of a new year in January with the rest of the world, it is this April celebration that’s more deeply ingrained as a fresh start for many Sri Lankans.
The Sinhala-Tamil New Year is rooted in astrology and coincides with the sun’s beginning of a new rotation in alignment with the zodiac cycle. Among its many rituals, the use of colour as a conduit for astrological synchronicity is one of the most popular. To wear a colour with intention is to acknowledge its resonance. The shades chosen each year are not arbitrary; they are drawn from an astrological point, aligning human intention with the cosmos. Tracing the history of this practice, we come across a fascinating record of how this astrological new year morphed parallel to Sri Lanka’s transformations.
From an island of many influences
The traditional new year we celebrate today—known as Avurudu in Sinhala and Puthandu in Tamil—is a solar festival. Although similar harvest festivals may be traced back much further, this astrologically significant celebration is believed to have started during the Kotte era. Robert Knox’s 17th-century writings mention a New Year festival celebrated in late March when the sun peaks for Sri Lanka. Historians believe that it was during the late Kandyan Kingdom, with the prolonged influence of the Nayakkar Kings, that the March festival was shifted to mid-April to merge it with a very similar South Indian celebration called ‘Pudu Varsham’.
Even after the Kandyan Kingdom fell, this hybrid festival endured through colonial times, binding two communities in a shared astrological framework. To date, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is dictated by the same almanac, with common ritual timings and practices for both communities. It’s a festival embodying Sri Lanka’s hybrid identity—one shaped by convergence rather than division.
The power of colour in ritual
Initially, the Sinhala-Tamil New Year stretched across nearly three weeks with ritual acts that were to be performed at exact dates and times, dressed in specific colours. Over centuries, many rituals faded, yet a few remained due to their timeless relevance to lifestyles even today—the lighting of the hearth, the sharing of meals, the first step into work, the anointing of hair. These acts held ground because they are bound to the most elemental aspects of Sri Lankan existence: home, livelihood, and personal well-being.
The practice of wearing prescribed colours for these rituals is rooted in Navagraha—the South Asian astrological study of the nine planetary influences. Here, each planet reflects a specific colour, determined by its surface composition and interaction with light—an idea present across Egyptian, Greek, and Babylonian astrological traditions. Based on this, colour is used by South Asian astrologers to balance celestial influences by incorporating objects like gemstones, flowers, fruit, and textiles with specific hues. According to this belief, colours can either strengthen weak planetary positions or enhance favourable alignments, influencing everything from well-being to fortune.
This year, the prescribed colours to wear for the Sinhala-Tamil New Year rituals are ivory, pearl, white, gold, and green—each chosen for its resonance with planetary energies that are best positioned to set a favourable tone for different aspects of life.
For nourishment and gift-giving, a colour range from pure white, ivory to pearl is recommended. Ivory and pearl are linked to the moon, evoking serenity, peace, and purity. White, associated with Venus, signifies beauty, grace, and refinement.
To set out for work in the New Year, gold is the prescribed colour. Gold represents both the sun and Jupiter—the former influencing vitality and creativity, the latter wisdom, growth, and prosperity.
For anointing hair, a ritual symbolizing personal well-being, green has been prescribed. Green is the shade of Mercury, a planet connected to renewal, balance, and vitality that is well-positioned this year to set the tone for the practice of self-care.
Beyond stories, beyond belief
Most astrologers would say that astrology is not an exact science, but a way of building synchronicity at a very macro scale. Using colours for Sinhala-Tamil New Year rituals is probably best understood this way. Whether one views it as a mere myth, truth, or even as a mode of cultural continuity, there is something truly remarkable about an entire people setting intentions together, at the same moment, draped in the same colour. Regardless of whether these rituals build synchronicity with celestial objects and forces beyond our grasp, they certainly create a tangible resonance with the people around us as we synchronize in a coordinated act. We think that’s really what makes these rituals worth celebrating.
At Rithihi, this tradition is honoured through a thoughtfully curated selection of white, green, and gold—pieces that celebrate not only the visual beauty of these hues but also the significance they have for Sri Lanka’s New Year rituals this year. To wear them is to participate in something far greater than tradition, heritage or ritual belief; it’s an act that reminds us how we move through this world together, as a community, shaping a collective will.
As we step close to another cycle of the sun, here’s wishing you a luminous Sinhala-Tamil New Year from Rithihi.
