How Tamil New Year is celebrated in Tamilnadu
Tamil New Year day, according to Hindu solar calendar, is the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar. The first month in the Tamil calendar is cithtirai which is the beginning o f spring. Hence, Tamil New Year day is also known as chitthirai thirunaal, varusha pirrappu, puththaandu so on. According to English calendar it falls on April 14. It's a public holiday in Tamil nadu.
The preparation for celebration starts in the previous night of the New Year by cleaning and washing house. Then the auspicious thing is arranged in a place for viewing kanni. The Tamil New Year starts with viewing kanni. The very first thing to do, when we wake in the morning on Tamil New Year, is to see the auspicious things. After bathing and wearing new clothes, they start to decorate the house with mango leaves and prepare to perform panchanga pooja.
Females draw colorful kolams or rangoli to decorate the house. Generally a kuththu vilakku, a traditional lamp, is kept in the middle of the kolam. Then they perform pooja and maanga pachchidi which is very important in pooja, is given as prasadam or nivedham. The family member sit together to listen the pachangam reading which predicts that years important happenings.
Then they visit temples in Tamilnadu to get gods blessings. After temple visit, eating a delicious meals, including maanga pachchadi, then visiting relatives and friends to greet them. This how Tamils keep them engaged in Tamil New Year.
Meaning and significance of viewing kanni
In Tamil language, Kanni means auspicious things. The celebration starts with viewing kanni that means seeing auspicious things like gold, silver, mirror, coconut, betel leaves, nuts, fruits, newly harvested farm products ect. By this act, Tamil people believed that the whole year would be filled with fortunes.
Preparation and importance of panchanga pooja
Along with this usual things needed for pooja, a small brass pot filled with water and decorated with mango leaves is kept in the pooja, which is called niraikudam. Beside this, kuththu villaku should be placed. The very important thing in the pooja is the new panchanga. It should be decorated with kumkum, sandal paste and flowers should be kept on them. Then maanga pachchadi, which is give as prasadam after pooja and also in meals. Pooja is performed as usual.
Generally family members listen to the panchagam of 2011 to know what future has stored for them. However some people are not performing panchanga pooja nowadays; they perform only pooja but the importance of celebrating Tamil New Year lies in panchaga pooja.
Concept behind maanga pachchadi
Tamil recipe Manga pachchadi is made of mango, neem leaves or neem flower, jaggery and salt. This is kept in the pooja and given as prasadham. It has mixed tastes of sweet, bitter, salt and sour mixed. In the same way, the life is also combined with happy and sorrow, we should accept them and perform our duties in this world with our losing our heart. To realize this truth, the manga pachchadi is kept in the pooja. This day is celebrated with eating neem and mango which are the symbol of growth and prosperity.
In tiruvidaimaruthur in kombakonam, Tamil nadu, on this day a car festival is held.
Sharing our happiness with relative and friends makes us happier. Let's celebrate this Tamil new year happily with understanding truth behind the rituals.
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