Тамил жаңа жылы: Путандху мерекесі

First day of the Tamil calendar

Puthandu , also known as Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar that is traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamils. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the solar Hindu calendar, as the first day of the month of Chittirai. It falls on or about 14 April every year on the Gregorian calendar. The day is observed as a family time. Households clean up the house, prepare a tray with fruits, flowers and auspicious items, light up the family puja altar and visit their local temples. People wear new clothes and children go to elders to pay their respects and seek their blessings, then the family sits down to a vegetarian feast. Puthandu is celebrated by Tamils in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Reunion. The Tamil diaspora also celebrates it in countries such as Myanmar, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia.

The Tamil New Year follows the spring equinox and generally falls on 14 April of the Gregorian year. likely an influence of the shared culture between South and Southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE. There are several references in early Tamil literature to the April new year. Nakkirar, Sangam period author of the Neṭunalvāṭai, wrote that the sun travels from Mesha/Chittirai through 11 successive signs of the zodiac. Kūdalūr Kiḻār refers to Mesha Raasi/Chittirai as the commencement of the year in the Puṟanāṉūṟu. The Tolkaapiyam is the oldest surviving Tamil grammar that divides the year into six seasons where Chittirai marks the start of the Ilavenil season or summer. The Silappadikaaram mentions the 12 Raasis or zodiac signs starting with Mesha/Chittirai. The Manimekalai alludes to the Hindu solar calendar as we know it today. Adiyarkunalaar, an early medieval commentator or Urai asiriyar mentions the twelve months of the Tamil calendar with particular reference to Chittirai. There were subsequent inscriptional references in Pagan, Burma dated to the 11th century CE and in Sukhothai, Thailand dated to the 14th century CE to South Indian, often Vaishnavite, courtiers who were tasked with defining the traditional calendar that began in mid April.

Tamil people celebrate Puthandu, also called Puthuvarusham, as the traditional "Tamil/New Year", states Peter Reeves. In some parts of Southern Tamil Nadu, the festival is called Chittirai Vishu. On the eve of Puthandu, a tray is arranged with three fruits (mango, banana and jack fruit), betel leaves and arecanut, gold/silver jewellery, coins/money, flowers and a mirror. The day before the Chithirai Kani or Vishukkani celebrations, people prepare the tray of auspicious items. On the new year day, elders light lamps and wake up juniors in the family. As soon as they wake up, they walk to the kani with their eyes closed and see it as the first scene of the year. This tradition is significant in both regions and is believed to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

Sri Lankan Tamils observe the traditional new year in April with the first financial transaction known as the Kai vishesham. In this transaction children go to elders to pay their respect, and elders give their blessings and gift pocket money to the children in return. The event is also observed with the 'arpudu' or the first ploughing of the ground to prepare for the new agricultural cycle. The game of 'por thenkai' or coconut wars between youth is played in villages through the Tamil north and east of the island while cart races are also held. The festive Puthandu season in April is a time for family visits and the renewal of filial bonds. It coincides with the Sinhalese new year season. Later in the day, families enjoy a feast.

In Malaysia and Singapore, Tamils join Sikhs, Malayalees and Bengalis to celebrate the traditional new year in mid April with leaders across the political spectrum wishing the ethnic Indian community for the new year. Special religious events are held in Hindu temples, in Tamil community centers and Gurdwaras. Cultural programs and media events also take place. It's a day of celebration for the Indian community.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led Government of Tamil Nadu had declared in 2008 that the Tamil new year should be celebrated on the first day of Tamil month of Thai (14 January) coinciding with the harvest festival of Pongal. The Tamil Nadu New Year (Declaration Bill 2008) was enacted as the state law by the DMK assembly members and its Tamil Nadu Government on 29 January 2008. This law of the DMK majority led government was subsequently rescinded by a separate act of legislation in the Tamil Nadu Assembly with an AIADMK majority led government on 23 August 2011. Many in Tamil Nadu ignored the DMK government legislation that rescheduled the festival date, and continued the celebration of their traditional Puthandu new year festival in mid April. The Governor and Chief Minister of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry, which has an ethnic Tamil majority, felicitated the public for the Tamil new year in April 2010. The legislative reach to change the traditional religious new year by the DMK government was questioned by Hindu priests and Tamil scholars. The law was met with resistance by Tamils in the state and elsewhere. It was also challenged in court. The then opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) in Tamil Nadu subsequently condemned the decision of the DMK Government in that state and urged their supporters to continue celebrating the traditional date in mid April. Tamils in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and Canada continued to observe the new year in mid April. The previous state government in Tamil Nadu in an effort to placate popular sentiment announced that the same day will be celebrated as a new festival renamed as "Chittirai Tirunal" (the festival of Chittirai). The day remained a public holiday in Tamil Nadu under the DMK government, but not as Tamil new year, but purportedly to commemorate Dr. B. R Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. All television channels in Tamil Nadu, including the pro DMK Sun TV, continued to telecast festive "Chittirai Tirunal Special Programs" on 14 April 2010. The leader of the AIADMK, Jayalalitha refused to recognize the repackaged festival, and felicitated the Tamil people for the traditional Tamil New Year. The MDMK leader Vaiko, followed suit. The controversy between the two dates subsided, the official celebrations during the traditional new year in April revived and the public holiday was restored as the Tamil New Year.