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| January 2012 |
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| Duruthu Perehara (full moon Poya day in January) (06th to 08th January 2012) |
Duruthu Perahera celebrates Lord Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka, occurred more than 2500 years ago. Today this event attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the sacred Kelaniya Temple in the city of Kelaniya. This is a significant Buddhist event in a country where the majority of the population is Buddhists. It comprises three Peraheras ( cultural processions) namely ‘Udamaluwa Perahara’, ‘Pathamaluwa Perahara’ & ‘Randoli Perahara’ featuring colourful dancers, musicians, devotees and many colourfully caparisoned elephants. The festival reaches its climax with the Randoli Perahera, the most magnificent of the 3 processions, held on the day prior to the January full moon day.
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| Thaipongal Festival (15th January 2012) |
| Sri Lanka has a large population of Hindu nationalities and Thaipongal is one of the most significant festivals for the Hindus. The houses are adorned in colourful ‘Kolam’ or complex & colourful drawings done on the floors using flour. Special Pujas (prayer ceremonies) are held in Kovils to worship the Sun God. It is customary to cook the Pongal meal and share it with neighbours, especially non-Hindus. |
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| HSBC Galle Literary Festival (26th to 30th January 2012) |
It is already 5 years since the Galle Literary Festival began and continues every year to enchant book lovers and those who value the magical beauty and power of words. The Galle Literary Festival has been recognized globally and has helped put Sri Lanka on the map for positive and intellectually stimulating reasons. From its modest beginnings the Festival has certainly gone a long way and hopefully will continue to attract the crème de la crème of the literary world while also helping to discover future great talents. The initial list of participants has now been announced. It includes Nobel, Booker, Orange, Commonwealth and Whitbread prize winners but also new, young and emerging writers.
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