Sri Lanka, April 8 -- Many countries celebrate their new year on January 1, following the Gregorian calendar. But some countries celebrate their new year in different periods of the year. Likewise, Sri Lankans celebrate its New Year on April 13 and 14 following the traditional lunisolar calendar.

A large majority of ethnic groups in Sri Lanka are Sinhalese and Tamils. The Sri Lanka new year is mainly a festival for these ethnic groups and therefore, officially known as Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The other ethnic groups also join with them in celebrating the new year. The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is the only major traditional festival that commonly observed by that largest number of these two communities in the country.

Lighting the h...