Sri Lanka, April 11 -- The Sinhala and Tamil New Year also known as the Festival of the Sun God is celebrated during the Sinhala month of Bak (April). It is also known as the Bak Maha Ulela.

The farmers of Sri Lanka as well as others hold this festival to honour the Sun God and therefore, it is also known as the Surya Mangallya. In Tamil it is known as Puthandu.

The dates for this festival, generally falls between April 12 and April 14. This year, the Parana Avuruddha or the old year falls on April 13 and the Aluth Avurudhha or New Year falls on April 14.

Ancient Sri Lankans believed that the Sun God travelled in a circle called the zodiac which had twelve sections or raashiyas. The first of these raashiyas is the Mesha Raashiya (House...