2025 Athula Dassana Surya Mangalaya London, Venerable Wanduramba Kassapa Thero message
Heathrow Welcome to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations organized by the Athula Dassana International Buddhist Vihara.
The cultural history of the “traditional New Year”, celebrated in April, dates back to ancient Sri Lankan history. Various beliefs, perhaps those associated with the fertility of the harvest, gave rise to many customs, rituals and festivals related to the New Year.
‘The culture of a nation resides in the hearts and souls of its people’ Mahatma Gandhi
The year 2011 was the birth year of our temple centre. Since then, with the support of our devotees, we have organised several religious and cultural events to honour and respect Sri Lankan culture and traditions. It is also an opportunity to teach our new generations growing up in the UK what it means to be Sri Lankan. The first Sri Lankan New Year celebration was organised in Hounslow in 2012 and was a huge success. The 2020 pandemic did not stop us from celebrating a ‘virtual’ New Year.
We have now expanded our Dhamma school to Aylesbury and are set to hold a New Year celebration there this year.
Games such as Kotta Pora (pillow fight on a rail track), Kanamutti Brinda (trying to hit a clay pot by bending it blindly), and Kamba Tudama (tug of war), many children’s games, to name a few, can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of age. Traditional Sri Lankan delicacies will be available for purchase throughout the day. I thank our organizing committee for organizing all the events and making the day successful.
I would also like to thank everyone involved in the cultural show. The hours of training of children and adults provide our guests with an event to relax, have fun and remember with fond memories for years to come.
We would like to extend our heartfelt and respectful greetings to our distinguished guests who support our event. We want to say ‘Blessings!’ to all our sponsors and donors. Your generous support each year helps to promote and make our religious and cultural events a reality. We do not use public funds for our events. Therefore, the generosity of our donors is genuinely appreciated.
All funds raised today will be deposited into our Sri Lanka Development Fund, which supports rural schools in Sri Lanka. One of our projects is building a school in Murungahiti, Anuradhapura. Funds are also used to help children with their education in conjunction with our scholarship program.
You can follow us on Facebook and our Athula Dassana International Vihara website
Wishing you all a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous Sinhala and Tamil New Year! May the three of you be blessed.
Thank you.
Minister of Religion
Venerable Wanduramba Kassapa Thero
President of Great Britain, Amarapura Siri Saddhama Vansa Nikaya, Athula Dassana International Buddhist Viharaya Chief Incumbent and Chief Sanghanayake of Dhamma Schools, Athula Dassana Multicultural Buddhist Community Centre – Sahana (R. Charitable No.: 1155139)
