April 13·Every year

Sinhala and Tamil New Year

Sri Lanka's most important cultural festival marks the end of the harvest season and the transition of the sun into Aries. Both Sinhala and Tamil communities observe it with traditional games, sweets, and the lighting of hearths at astronomically precise times. The celebrations run across two days and involve the entire country.

Category: Culture
Observed in: Sri LankaofficialIndiaSingapore

On this day in history →See the calendar Learn more ↗

Also on this day

Full history →

Notable · 2017

War in Afghanistan: In an airstrike in Nangarhar Province, the U.S. military dropped the most powerful conventional bomb used in combat.

2025Rory McIlroy wins the Masters Tournament, becoming just the sixth person to complete the Grand Slam in golf.
2024Six people and the perpetrator are killed and twelve others injured in a mass stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney, Australia.
2023The house of Jack Teixeira is raided in an investigation into leaked Pentagon documents; he is arrested on the same day.