News
A New Year awash with colour and hope
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
As the clock struck midnight, bursts of colour lit up the skyline as Sri Lanka stepped into 2026 with a blend of devotion and celebration in the wake of recent hardships caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
While some welcomed the New Year with music and fireworks, thousands marked the transition with religious observances.
Galle Face Green drew both locals and foreign visitors, who gathered along the seafront to watch fireworks ripple across the skies. Families sat on the grass, children waving sparklers, while vendors did business selling snacks and balloons.
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- A New Year party in Mirissa and below fireworks in Colombo
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- Marking the New Year at a camp for the displaced in Badulla
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- Heralding the dawn of 2026 with religious observances.
Buddhist temples saw devotees offering flowers, lighting oil lamps, chants echoing softly through the shrine rooms.
Pilgrims at Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) marked the New Year with religious observances along the sacred trail.
In churches, worshippers attended midnight mass, singing praises and listening to scriptures, dedicating the New Year to God.
In kovils across the city and hill country, oil lamps were lit and special poojas conducted. Hindu devotees gathered at kovils for traditional rituals, praying for health and stability.
In the southern tourist hubs, hotels and beach venues hosted New Year parties attended by both locals and tourists. Colombo, too, had its share of events.
In the Badulla Pradeshiya Sabha, a displaced persons’ camp housing 86 families marked the New Year in a different way. Having lost homes to floods, residents came together for religious observances, created intricate rice art, and prepared pongal rice.
Some community leaders noted that funds allocated for annual New Year festivities had instead been redirected towards flood relief and essential needs.
Pix by Nilan Maligaspe, Palitha Ariyawansa, Ranjith Rajapaksha and Tharanga Chanaka
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