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Puthandu | |
Tamil New Year is on April 14, 2012 | |
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The Tamil New Year date (otherwise known as Puthandu) is celebrated in the South India in the state of Tamil Nadu, on the first of Chithirai. In Madurai, the Chithrai Thiruvizha is celebrated in the Meenakshi Temple, where a huge exhibition is arranged for known as Chithrai Porutkaatchi.
In many other parts of Tamil Nadu the date for Tamil New year is also known as Chithrai Vishu, marked with a feast in Hindu homes and the entrance gets adorned with kolams. That is a part of the Tamil New year tradition. Previously, the holiday for Tamil New year usually was observed on 13 or 14 April, but now it shall change officially with a new announcement being made. |
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| A new bill has stated that the new date for Tamil New Year shall now be the first day of the Tamil month 'Thai' (January 14) and that will be the new Tamil New Year date. This decision has been commonly approved in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly. |
| Therefore, the Tamil calendar starts on the same date observed by most conventional calendars in India as in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab, Tripura etc. The other places which need a mention here are Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The 60-year cycle of the calendar is very old and is observed by the majority of the traditional calendars of India and China, and is connected to 5 revolutions of Jupiter, or to 60-year orbit of Nakshatras (stars) as explained in the Surya Siddhanta.
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The traditional Tamil year starts from April 14, 2012, Kaliyuga 5112. The other eras which are also used are Vikrama and Shalivahana Saka eras. There happens to be quite a few mentions in early literature of Tamil to the April new year. |
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