Happy New Year! (around the world)

Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and other Asian countries celebrate New Year's on pre-Christian lunar calendars. New Year celebrations coincide with what for the Western world is the renewal of spring.

There are, of course, a number of dating systems used around the world. The most widely used one is the Gregorian calendar. It is the BC and AD dating system familiar to many. Another system used by people around the world is the Buddhist calendar. It begins its reckoning based on the birth of the historical Buddha. The exact date of his birth is disputed by scholars but is generally thought to have been 543 BC. That is, he was born 543 years before the presumed date of Jesus's birth. To convert from one system to the other, one simply adds 543 to the Gregorian date (Source).

India, the birthplace of Buddhism, may be unique in that many "New Years" are celebrated according to region: New Year traditions vary in different parts of India! Here is a fascinating tour: Assamese • Bengali • Gujarati • Malayalam • Marathi • Marwari • Punjabi • Sikkimese • Tamil • Telugu.

New Years in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka or Sinhala New Year is Aluth Avurudhu. It usually falls on April 13 or 14. According to Sinhalese mythology, the New Year begins when the sun moves from Meena Rashiya (the house of Aries) to Mesha Rashiya. It also marks the end of the harvest and spring. The rains enliven the spirit of nature as flowers bloom, trees become laden with fruit, and it becomes a bountiful time for farmers. Source

• A chronology of Thervadan Buddhism

New Year Celebrations Around the World

US • UK • Russia • France • Australia • China • Japan • Vietnam • Europe • Germany • Tibet • Persia • Scotland • Thailand • South Africa • Brazil • Cambodia • Sri Lanka • Korea