April is a holiday month in Sri Lanka where the Sinhalese and Tamil communities celebrate the dawning of the New Year. It’s a time when families get together to conduct traditional rituals, religious ceremonies, offer thanks for a good rice harvest, an wish peace and prosperity to all for the coming new year. Homes are spruced up, traditional sweet meets are prepared over a hearth, and when the New Year dawns - all dressed in crisp new clothes in a colour that is determined by the Astrologers to bring good luck for the New Year, people will pay respect to their elders, exchange gifts and share a meal of milk rice with friends and family. At an auspicious time determined by the Astrologers, the New Year dawned this year on April 14th.