Sinhalese Celebrations

I am fortunate to be invited to share the first meal of the New Year with a Sinhalese Buddhist family in Hatton. Priyantha and his wife, Thiloma, live in a large modern house, with their two young sons, on the edge of the valley. I arrive at their home around 10 pm, shortly before the auspicious time decreed for the New Year meal. The family warmly welcomes me and Priyantha proudly shows me around their newly built two-storey home. The television is blaring with the national New Year countdown, as the family patiently waits for the precise time when they can begin the meal.