Sri Pada Pilgrimage Season
December brings The Sri Pada pilgrimage season, which lasts until Sri Lankan New Year (mid-April). Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian pilgrims ascend the 2234m mountain to a temple that bears the ‘footprint’ of the Buddha, Lord Shiva or Adam, according to the differing beliefs, this is yet another example of how different faith in Sri Lanka share sacred sites and symbols. The climb begins from the village of Dalhousie shortly after midnight in order to reach the summit by sunrise, when a spectacular triangular shadow of the peak known as ira sevaya or service of the sun foreshortens in spectacular fashion. Pilgrims ring a bell to indicate the number of visits they have made to the summit.
Christmas in Sri Lanka
Although Sri Lanka is a majority Buddhist country (only 7% of people are Christians) Christmas is celebrated as a public holiday by everyone across community. The brightly lit streets and malls and tall Christmas trees brings light to the streets of Colombo. The celebrations pin along the way in corporate companies and big hotels. On the eve of Christmas (24th December), Churches hold midnight mass to herald the dawn of Christmas. At midnight thousands of firecrackers are lit – a very popular Sri Lankan practice at any major festival.
December is usually a good month to travel to Sri Lanka. Along the coastal belts of southern and western, the rainfall starts to decline; plenty of sunshine and dry days are expected means the peak beach conditions return. Kandy & the Hill country stay a brilliant green after the plenty of monsoon rains.
