The new year falls on or about the same day every year for many communities in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Some examples include:
- Bikram Samwat / Vaishak Ek in Nepal
- Aluth Avuruthu in Sri Lanka.[62]
- Songkran in Thailand
- Chol Chnam Thmey in Cambodia
- Pii Mai Lao in Laos
- Thingyan in Myanmar
Some holy sites of Kashmiri Pandits include the Martand Sun Temple at Mattan, Mahakali shrine in Srinagar on the banks of vitasta, & above all the Amarnath cave shrine, the pilgrimage to which is conducted during shravan purnima.[68]
The Meitei people celebrates the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast for lunch are ‘de rigueur’. The day, begins with ritual offerings of fruits, vegetables, rice and other uncooked food items to the Meitei deity Lainingthou Sanamahi during the early morning of the festival.
The preparation of the feast: After getting blessings from Lainingthou Sanamahi, an even number of dishes are prepared using the offerings. Traditionally, the males of the house makes the dishes, with the females helping in chopping and washing the ingredients.
It is a tradition that family members climb a small hillock specially prepared by the community near the locality to pay homage to the hill deity, signifying the elevation of the spirit to reach the divine. The “Chin-nga” at Singjamei and “Cheirao Ching” at Chingmeirong are such hillocks that are specially prepared for these hillock climbing ritual. Toy shops, eateries, and other varied small shops will line the road to the hillock on that day to attract the ritual climbers to buy their items.
Naba Barsha or Pohela Boishakh in West Bengal and Tripura, India, Nepal and Bangladesh
The festival is celebrated with processions, fairs and family time. The traditional greeting for Bengali New Year is শুভ নববর্ষ “Shubho Nabobarsho” which is literally “Happy New Year”. The festive Mangal Shobhajatra is organized in Bangladesh. In 2016, the UNESCO declared this festivity organized by the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka as a cultural heritage of humanity.
Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, India
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”.[6] 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 children go to elders to pay their respects and seek their blessings, then the family sits down to a vegetarian feast.[