post

Avurudu Returns to HFC after Covid-19.

මේ අවුරුද්දේ කිරි ඉතිරෙන්නය්
රට වැසියන්ගේ ආයු වැඩෙන්නය්.
රට පුරාම අවුරුදු සිරි මේං බලං එරබදු මල්
බක් මාසේ මංගල්ලේ මේං බලල්ලා,
මීන රාශියෙන් හෙමිහිට මේශ රාශියට පැමිනෙන
හිරු දෙවිදුගෙ මංගල්ලේ මේං බලල්ලා…

On the 20th of April 2023, Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya held its first Avurudu celebration since 2019. The celebration of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year was organized by the Senior Prefects Guild in collaboration with the Sinhala and Tamil unions of the school.

The day dawned with an assembly for morning prayers, held in the traditionally decorated quadrangle and attended by the whole school in their traditional clothing, immediately after prayers, several Avurudu traditions were carried out before the assembled school, including the lighting of the traditional pahan palaya, boiling of the milk, worshiping the elders, singing folksongs and anointing oil on the head by the elders [ “hise thel gaama”] and also a traditional dance item carried alongside with playing of the rabana. Afterward, the students enjoyed traditional food in their classes, accompanied by their class teachers.

traditional and fun Avurudu games. Each grade got the opportunity to participate in a game specially for
them- from Grade 6 running the lime and spoon race to Grade 13 trying their best in “kanaa mutti bidima”. Several open games welcomed participation of all ages in games such as pinning the eye on the elephant, best laugh and best cry and of course, the ever anticipated choosing of the Avurudu kumari.

The teachers and non-academic staff also had several games of their own to participate in, including the grand finale of the day, a tug-of-war between teachers and prefects. The day was concluded successfully with the students changing back into uniform to return home.