Leaving that aside one must be aware that holidays and festivals that take place in Sri Lanka as we stated earlier due to the multicultural background. Significant religious and national festivals are celebrated throughout the year. So with Saturday designated as a half day and Sunday full day off, Sri Lankans starts “TGIF” on Friday evening, and get into to the “islander mood”. Full moon days of each month are referred to as “poya” day and it is prohibited by law to serve or sell alcohol and red meat in hotels, restaurants and supermarkets however fish will be available, so best be prepared. The first cultural pageant or “Perahera” as it’s known in Sinhalese, is “Duruthu” itself meaning January in the Sinhalese calendar which takes place in the commercial capital Colombo, great time to combine shopping and sightseeing of this colonial era seaport and capital, don’t forget to take a stroll down Galle face green, taking in the gram hawkers, kites dancing in the breeze and the sea spray. April marks the end of paddy harvesting season and the New Year according to the Buddhist calendar, the 13 & 14 of April is the time when all Sinhalese and Hindu’s celebrate “Awurudu”, a unique event where the whole country follows a single time table to cook and eat, and many sweets meats are made along with milk rice to celebrate, great time to be around where anyone will be invited to join in on the festivities, most hotels will organize a festival to celebrate Awurudu. this is the time of “summer blooms” festival in the cooler climates of Nuwara Eliya. The wealthier Sri Lankans spend Awurudua in this “Little England” as the colonials called it, parades and flower shows mark the season opening along with horse and car races. The usually sleepy town becomes crowded during this time. The most extravagant festival is the one held each year in the month of July – August is “Esala perahera” in Kandy, which pays homage to the Sacred tooth relic of lord Buddha, as Robert Knox describes it aptly from 350 years ago, “Forty Elephants all covered with white

cloth and decorated in brass upon which the Sacred Relic rides with all the triumphs that the king and Kingdom can afford followed by a great multitude of drummers, pipers, trumpeters, Kandyan dancers, fire walkers through all the street of the city in honour of the Sacred relic” The Perahera goes on for ten days, the last day is the best, expect long queues and huge crowds long before the start of the perahera which takes place in the night, if you are fussy or not the type that likes crowds best you find one of the many spots within the route to comfortably watch this truly magnificent pageant. Although only around 7% of Sri Lankans are Catholic or Christian, Christmas is celebrated in grand manner in Sri Lanka especially in the southern and western coastal cities, urban areas and all hotels will celebrate Christmas in one form or the other. The focus of the local people is to ensure that the tourists have a wonderful time. Almost every major hotel organizes a grand Christmas party and a TV and Radio stations organize parties throughout the month of December. Note that most hotels will charge you a Christmas and New Year supplement, best clarify same if you are planning to travel during this time and book ahead to avoid the rush as this is the height of the tourist season. Exact Dates will alter from year to year. The Tourist Board produces a new comprehensive list each year for many other events on their website. Deepavali – Hindu festival of lights celebrated by Hindu’s in either October or November and Tamil Thai Pongal Day - Tamil New Year in mid-January our two other prominent festivals in Sri Lankan calendar. Kindly note that exact dates for all the above celebrations will change according to the auspicious time calculations done for that particular year, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority official website will carry an updated list for all above mentioned and many other events throughout the year. When travelling around Sri Lanka, you should make arrangements through reputable travel companies and exercise appropriate caution.