Tamil New Year

Puthandu Tamil New Year
Tamil new year decorations for Puthandu
Observed by	Tamil Hindus in India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Malaysia, Singapore
Type	religious, social
Significance	Tamil New Year
Celebrations	Feasting, gift-giving, visiting homes and temples
Date	First day of Chitterai in the Tamil calendar
2017 date	Friday, 14 April
Related to	Vaisakhi, Vishu (Kerala), Burmese New Year, Cambodian New Year, Lao New Year, Malayali New Year, Odia New Year, Sri Lankan New Year, Thai New Year

Puthandu (Tamil: புத்தாண்டு), also known as Puthuvarusham or Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, as the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai. It therefore almost always falls on or about 14 April every year on the Gregorian calendar. The same day is observed by Hindus elsewhere as the traditional new year, but is known by other names such as Vishu in Kerala, and Vaisakhi in central and north India.

On this day, Tamil people greet each other by saying "Puttāṇṭu vāḻttukkaḷ!" ( புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்) or "Iṉiya puttāṇṭu nalvāḻttukkaḷ!" (இனிய புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்), 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 youngster go to elders to pay respects and seek their blessings, then the family sits down to a vegetarian feast.

Puthandu is also celebrated by Tamil Hindus outside Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, such as in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Reunion, Mauritius and other countries with Tamil Diaspora.

The Tamil New Year follows the spring equinox and generally falls on 14 April of the Gregorian year. The day celebrates the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and is a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. The same date is observed as the traditional new year by many Hindus in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Tripura, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan as well as by Hindus in Nepal and Bangladesh. Several Buddhist communities in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka also celebrate the same day as their new year, likely an influence of the shared culture between South and Southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.