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	Look@ Magazine: issue 1a The New Year The New Year day generally falls on the 14th of April every year. The cuckoo bird announces the arrival of the New Year from the beginning of the month. Trees smile with us, full of flowers and sweet fruits. The whole country gets ready for the great event. We start our preparations by cleaning and repairing our houses. Mother starts to cook kavum , kokis and other sweetmeats for the new year. We feel anxious to reveal the secret about the new clothes we are getting soon. On the New Year day we get up early in the morning and get dressed with bright new clothes. The celebrations begin with the auspicious time meant to stop all the work. After stopping our routine tasks, we go to the temple in order to worship Buddha. Then we spend the time with our friends, playing traditional games as well our daily favorites. Mother lights the hearth at the auspicious time to boil milk and we all watch it until it spills. Over flowing milk pot symbolizes the prosperity and the family fortune. Mother cooks milk rice using that milk. Then comes the climax of the New Year celebrations. That is the auspicious time for the New Year meal. We arrange the table with milk rice and other sweetmeats. A traditional brass lamp lights the festive table. On the auspicious moment the head of the family, father gives us each a piece of milk rice. Then we start to enjoy the New Year meal. Here we feel the togetherness of the family very strongly. That's why everyone tries to be at home for the moment. If you miss the event, the whole family will feel your absence very badly. That's why some people rush home at the last moment, forgetting everything. After the meal, we worship our parents and other elder members of the family giving Betel leaves. The rest of the day is spent on traditional games such as Swinging, olinda, pancha ,chaggudu ( a game very same to kabadi) a kottapora (two players fighting with pillows on a beam ,using only one hand)and games like tug-o-war, climbing the grease pole and eating buns. People visit their friends and relations during this period and enjoy the company of them. For some people this is the only rest they get for the whole year. For little ones this is a dreamtime. The New Year unites families, New Year unites friends and the New Year unites the country. That's why I love it. Lasanthi Ranawaka Grade 10- C Previous   Contents    Next
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