Suba Naththalak Wewa!
Celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve in Sri Lanka
(with Kima)!
Time flies and that means the 2023 holiday season is almost there. Prepare for cosy lights, festive decorations, and quality time spent together. At our Kima Surf Camps in Sri Lanka, we've already started the preparations!
Are you spending the last days of this year in Sri Lanka? Lucky you! Christmas and New Year's Eve on this island is a wonderful and special activity.
Traditional Sri Lankan Christmas
In Sri Lanka, where Buddhism is the predominant religion, Christmas isn't the biggest celebration amongst them. Instead, the focus shifts to Vesak, a significant festival in May.
This is a special time honouring the life of Gautama Buddha — his birth, enlightenment, and passing away. During Vesak, the country lights up with decorations and acts of kindness. Instead of gifts, people focus on spiritual practices like visiting temples and meditating.
While Vesak and Christmas have their unique celebrations, both Vesak and Christmas are just as meaningful and share universal values of joy, compassion, and family unity. Adding to the cultural richness of Sri Lanka's festive celebrations.
However, the typical Christian Christmas is still celebrated as a public holiday by everyone in Sri Lanka. Christmas season starts on 1st December when people let off firecrackers at dawn! The streets are decked with lights and decorations, malls showcase big lighted Christmas trees and people walk around in new Christmas outfits.
Are you a Christmas market fan? No worries, you can find big markets at The Galle Face Green Fair and Colombo Christmas Market, where you can shop til you drop!
In Sri Lanka, Christmas is known for spending time together - playing games, chatting along, singing together, and sharing a delightful dinner.
Christmas at Kima:
Secret Santa & Christmas Dinner
We love to celebrate Christmas at Kima! It might be a different Christmas than you are used to, but it will be a Christmas you won‘t forget. Of course, there's no other way to start your Christmas Day at Kima than with your daily morning surf session.
Once you come back to camp, have our 3-course breakfast, relax, play games together, and capture some pictures at our lighted Christmas Tree. We are organising some activities for the day like Secret Santa to get you into the Christmas mood. After your second surf or yoga session get ready for our personal Kima highlight of this Christmas day: our Christmas Dinner!
Long tables full of decorations, and an amazing selection of food for you to choose from, featuring traditional Sri Lankan and typical Western Christmas dishes. Time for a night of eating together, unwrapping gifts, sharing memories, listening to festive music, and lots of laughter!
New Year's Eve in Sri Lanka
While the common New Year's Eve is celebrated on December 31st globally, Sri Lanka follows a different calendar. Sinhala and Tamil New Year falls on April 13th-14th, also known as "Aluth Avurudu". It marks the transition of the sun from the House of Pisces to the House of Aries. This is when Sri Lankans will have big traditional activities, feasts and rituals. Sri Lankans spend this time restoring their physical surroundings. Starting with cleaning and repairing the house, and renewing old clothes.
The first ritual of the Sri Lankans is the lighting of the heart of the house at the dawn of the new year. Over the flames, they will cook and prepare the traditional milk rice as a symbol of prosperity. Food is an important factor in New Year celebrations. After lighting an oil lamp, the whole family will enjoy huge tables filled with traditional dishes, sweets and pastries such as: Kiribath, bananas, kavum, kokis, aluwa and many other traditional sweets.
After the meal, the younger generation will show respect to their elders by offering them lush sheaves of betel as a blessing. And these acts of friendship and gratefulness will not only stay in the family. The festivities are usually shared with neighbours and friends!
After the rituals, it’s time to play and celebrate! These include outdoor activities like ‘havari hengima’ (hiding the wig), ‘kotta pora’ (pillow-fighting),’ Lissana gaha nageema’ (climbing a greasy pole) and kamba adeema (tug-of-war).
However, January 1st is also celebrated with Sri Lankan traditions, from culinary dishes to fireworks. The Western influence transforms the island into a big party in Beach Clubs, Bars, and Restaurants, offering special menus and programs.
Around our camps, join the bars for New Year's Eve celebrations, and don't miss our grand New Years Eve party at the camp where we are hosting a nice dinner, dance to DJ's music and afterwards look at fireworks together!
Book your festive holiday now!Sri Lanka is not on your list this year anymore but you want to spend your holidays in the tropics? What about Christmas and New Year's Eve in Bali?!
