The Sinhala and Tamil New Year also known as the Festival of the Sun God is celebrated during the Sinhala month of Bak (April). It is also known as the Bak Maha Ulela.
The farmers of Sri Lanka as well as others hold this festival to honour the Sun God and therefore, it is also known as the Surya Mangallya. In Tamil it is known as Puthandu.
The dates for this festival, generally falls between April 12 and April 14. This year, the Parana Avuruddha or the old year falls on April 13 and the Aluth Avurudhha or New Year falls on April 14.
Ancient Sri Lankans believed that the Sun God travelled in a circle called the zodiac which had twelve sections or raashiyas. The first of these raashiyas is the Mesha Raashiya (House of Aries) the sign of which is a ram or male sheep. The last of the raashiyas is the Meena Raashiya or the House of Pisces which has two fish as its sign. As the Sun God completes his time in the Meena Raashiya he reaches the end of a year: the Parana Avuruddha or the Old Year. When the Sun god moves fully into the Mesha Raashiya or the House of Aries it is the start of another year for him: the Aluth Avuruddha or the New Year.
Now, the Sun God does not go at once from the Meena Raashiya to the Mesha Raashiya. It takes him a few hours to move from the Meena Raashiya to the Mesha Raashiya. During this time the Sun God is at a crossing or is in transit. This transition is called Sankranthi in Sinhala.
He is not in the Old Year or the New Year at this time. He is out-of-time or in what may be termed as ‘no man’s land’. There are no good or auspicious moments or times during this time. Therefore, In Sinhala it is called ‘nonagate’.
As this is not a good time, people generally seek to protect themselves by visiting the temple and performing meritorious deeds. Therefore, this period is called the punya kalaya in Sinhala.