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 same day is observed elsewhere in South and South East Asia as the traditional new year, but it is known by other names such as Vishu in Kerala, Bisu Parba in Tulunadu, and Vaisakhi or Baisakhi in central and northern India.
On this day, Tamil people greet each other by saying "Puttāṇṭu vāḻttukaḷ!" ( புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துகள்) or "Iṉiya puttāṇṭu nalvāḻttukaḷ!" (இனிய புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துகள்), which is equivalent to "Happy new year".
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, Tamil Mauritians and Reunion. The Tamil diaspora also celebrates it
, Quote: "The key festivals celebrated by Sri Lankan Tamils in Canada include Thai Pongal (harvest festival) in January, Puthuvarusham (Tamil/New Year) in April, and Deepavali (Festival of Lights) in October/November." in countries such as Myanmar Tamils, South Africa, British Tamils, Tamil Americans, Tamil Canadians, and Australia.
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.JV Chelliah: Pattupattu: Ten Tamil Idylls. Tamil Verses with English Translation. Thanjavur: Tamil University, 1985 – Lines 160 to 162 of the NeṭunalvāṭaiKamil Zvelabil dates the Neṭunalvāṭai to between the 2nd and 4th century CE – Kamil Zvelebil: The Smile of Murugan on Tamil Literature of South India. E.J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands, 1973 – page 41-42 Kūdalūr Kiḻār refers to Mesha Raasi/Chittirai as the commencement of the year in the Puṟanāṉūṟu.Poem 229 of PuṟanāṉūṟuProfessor Vaiyapuri Pillai: 'History of Tamil Language and Literature' Chennai, 1956, pages 35, 151George L. Hart and Hank Heifetz: The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil: The Purananuru, Columbia University Press, New York, 1999 – Poem 229 in pages 142 to 143. – "At midnight crowded with darkness in the first quarter of the night when the constellation of Fire was linked with The Goat and from the moment the First Constellation arose...during the first half of the month of Pankuni, when the Constellation of the Far North was descending...". George Hart in turn dates the Purananuru to between the first and third centuries CE. See page xv – xvii 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.V. Murugan, G. John Samuel: Tolkāppiyam in English: Translation, with the Tamil text, Transliteration in the Roman Script, Introduction, Glossary, and Illustrations, Institute of Asian Studies, Madras, India, 2001 The Silappadikaaram mentions the 12 Raasis or zodiac signs starting with Mesha/Chittirai.Canto 26 of Silappadikaaram. Canto 5 also describes the foremost festival in the Chola country – the Indra Vilha celebrated in Chitterai 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.G.H. Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, Locust Valley, New York, Page 68, and A.B. Griswold, 'Towards a History of Sukhodaya Art, Bangkok 1967, pages 12–32
The Chithiraikani or Vishukani tray typically includes three fruits (mango, banana, and jackfruit), betel leaves, rice, lemon, cucumber, coconut cut open, arecanut, gold or silver jewelry, coins or money, flowers, and a mirror, among other things that symbolize wealth and prosperity. This arrangement is similar to the Vishu celebrations that take place in Kerala. In some parts of Kerala, the tray also includes Aranmula kannadi (Vaalkannadi), golden color Konna flowers (Cassia fistula) which bloom in the season of Vishu, gold or silver jewelry, coins or money, flowers, and a mirror. The mirror symbolizes seeing oneself as a part of the abundance one sees in the form of Pani.
The day before the Chithiraikani 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.
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.
However, this is not the universal new year for all Hindus. Lunar New Year celebrations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana's Ugadi & Maharashtra and Goa's Gudi Padwa, fall a few days before Puthandu. For those in Gujarat, the new year festivities coincide with the five-day Diwali festival.
According to a 1957 publication by Gunasegaram, the new year celebrated in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Champa (Vietnam) is the Tamil New Year with roots in the practices of Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley civilization).Tamil cultural influences in South East Asia (1957) by Samuel Jeyanayagam Gunasegaram, Ceylon Printers p.18Tamil Culture, Band 6 (1957), Academy of Tamil Culture p.79 According to Nanacuriyan, this may be from the medieval era Tamil influence in Southeast Asia.An introduction to Tamil culture, Kirusna Nanacuriyan (1984), Institute for International Tamil Renaissance p.81
According to Jean Michaud and other scholars, the new year celebration traditions in Southeast Asian Massif have two roots. One is China, and this influence is found for example in Vietnam. This Sino-influenced community celebrates the new year in the first or second lunar month after the winter solstice in December. The second group of people in the Massif celebrate the new year in mid April, much like most of India. This group consists of northeastern Indians, northeastern Myanmar, the Khmer in Cambodia, Tai speakers of Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam and southern Yunnan.
The festival is celebrated in the Massif in some ways unlike Puthandu. It is marked by an occasion to visit family and friends, splashing others with water (like Holi), drinking alcohol, as well as later wearing jewelry, new clothes and socializing. The new year festival is called regionally by different names:
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