• Tamil puthandu or Tamil New Year falls in March and April month in Tamil calendar. Tamil puthandu celebrates when vernal equinox (earth’s equator meets the center the sun’s disk) occurs in the region, especially in Tamilnadu. Tamil puthandu also called as “pudhuvarsha pirappu” which is the first day of chithirai month in Tamil calendar.
• Murugan is the main god Tamil puthandu and he is called as Tamil kadavul(god).
• The date of Tamil puthandu is April 14, Saturday, 2018.
• Tamil puthandu is celebrating in different regions like Kerala, Singapore, SriLanka, Malaysia, central north India as well. Tamil Varsha pirappu is celebrated as Vishu (New Year festival) in Kerala, Vaisakhi in north India, in Orissa as ‘Pana Sankranti‘, in West Bengal as ‘Poila Boishak‘. Tamil puthandu is an auspicious day in Tamilnadu.
• People  wish  their families and friends with Tamil New Year greetings, gifts, Tamil puthandu wishes to them.

2018 Significant of Tamil puthandu celebration (Tamil New Year)

• Puthandu is the day of new beginnings for the growth of their lives. People celebrate the festival with full of happiness to bring new opportunities, prosperity, blessings, good health. In Tamil puthandu, neem flowers and mango leaves have taken and they will do some pachadi in it. This is the symbol of goodness, growth, prosperity for the family.
• Puthandu is the beginning of Chithirai month (Tamil month), the first day of the New Year. It is a very auspicious occasion for Tamil peoples. It is believed that Lord Brahma started the creation of this Universe and Lord Indra who visited earth on the day of Puthandu to see contentment and amity. Puthandu is a day of feast festival.

2018 Tamil puthandu celebration and rituals

• The celebrations of Puthandu begin a day before usually. People arranged fruits like banana, jackfruits, apple, jewellery, money, betel leaves, mirror  flowers, lentils and grains. This is to be sighted first thing on the morning of Puthandu and this ritual is known as ‘Kani’ which brings happiness and prosperity in the coming year. The same thing which to is followed in the Vishnu Kani, it is the Kerala New Year festival. Kerala people wake their family members at 12 o clock on Vishnu, close their eyes take them to the prayer room in front of god to see the Kani arrangements and it believes that will give goodness to them.

• On the day of Tamil puthandu, people decorated their houses beautifully with kolams and flower Thoranam. They keep lamp (kuthuvilaku) in the middle of the kolam in the house to remove the darkness in their lives.
• People wear new clothes on the occasion of Puthandu, this is the day of feasting so they would prepare many delicious food items, exchange New Year greetings with one another.
• Youngsters and children receive gifts and money from elders on Puthandu. They would go the elders home get blessings from them and then get pocket money for them.
• People also visit the temples to get blessings for the year ahead from the god. In the temples, priest also reads out the ‘Panchangam‘, Tamil puthandu rasi (zodiac) palan (planet position to predict the future which is a belief) for the year to all. People will light a lamp to the god to glow their life in future.

• On the day of Puthandu a big car festival takes place at Tiruvidaimarudur, near Kumbakonam and also held in Kanchipuram, Tiruchirapalli and few other places.
• In Madurai, A big exhibition popularly called as ‘Chitterai Porutkaatchi’ is held at the famous Meenakshi Amman temple. People go to the temple visit Meenakshi Amman and then go the exhibition.

2018 Tamil puthandu and Vishu Kani recipes

Tamil puthandu special recipe- Arisi parupu payasam

• Soak jaggery in warm water and crush it well. Then heat it up until it is slightly thick Cool down, Strain and keep aside.
• Measure, all the ingredients then rinse rice and dal separately. Now in a pressure cooker add one spoon of ghee add dal and roast it.
• Add the jaggery mix into the dal and rice mix it well.
• Add fried cashews, raisins, toasted coconut sprinkles, cardamom in ghee into the mixture then serve the friends and families.

Vishnu Kani special recipe-Vishnu Katta recipe

• Soak jaggery in warm water (till immersing level, I used 1/4 cup), crush it well.
• Take grated coconut in a mixer, add little water and extract coconut milk.
• Take the coconut milk and set aside. Rinse rice and soak it in water for 30mins.Take coconut milk in the pan and heat it.
• Then add rice to the coconut milk heat it in low flame after that add jeera and ghee mix it well
• Then finally add some ghee. Vishu Katta is ready.

Famous Murugan temple in Chennai to visit

Vadapalani Murugan temple in Chennai : This temple is very famous in Chennai. It is situated in Bhakthavachalam colony 1st street, Vadapalani, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600026

• How to reach : If you are in choolaimedu, Kk Nagar,saaligramam, Ashok Nagar,you can visit Vadapalani Murugan temple. It takes only 10 minutes around 3km to reach. The best way is to go by cabs in Chennai.

Arupadai Murugan temple in Chennai : This temple is a renowned temple for Chennai peoples. It is situated in Ashtalakshmi Garden Rd, Kalakshetra Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600090.

• How to reach : If you are in urrurkuppam and Besant Nagar,you can go to arupadai Murugan temple.it takes 5 to 10 minutes in the cab to reach covers around 2km only.

Kundrathur Murugan temple : It is also well known Murugan temple in Chennai. It is situated in Murugan Koil Street, Kundrathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600069.

• How to reach : If you are in nandhampakkam and kundrathur,porur, you can go kundrathur Murugan temple. It takes 7 to 10 minutes to reach in cab covers around 2km.

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