Sri Lankan new year comes to chessington 

As it approaches the end of April, local residents of chessington have decided to celebrate the Sri Lankan new year. Sri Lankan new year falls on April 14th this year. The date at which new year falls upon depends on the sun. New yaer begins when the sun moves from the house of pieces to the house of Aries, which generally falls around the 10-15 of April. It's a time of celebration, worship and reflection for those involved. Traditionally at the end of the day, families take part in fun and games outside. 

Therefore, people in chessington have organised an event with fun and games to celebrate the new year. The celebrations occurred at king Edwards recreational ground from the hours of 10 - 5 on the 30th of April. While it took a while to get underway, soon people were in full swing and it turned out to be an extremely successful day. 

People witnessed various games which included a tug of war, an egg and spoon race and other activities that are usually played in Sri Lanka. There was also plenty of food for guests to enjoy as well as some Sri Lankan music for people to dance to. The mayor of Kingston also payed a visit to the celebrations and some of the traditional Sri Lankan culture. He says 'Kingston is a wonderful multicultural and it's really great to learn about different events.' He adds ' it's really great seeing people coming together like this'

Despite the gloomy weather, the event turned out to be a great family fun day and a great celebration of the Sri Lankan new year!

By Dillon Tharumanayagam, Hampton School.