Everything You Need to Know Tamil Puthandu 2025: Tamil New Year Celebrations, Time & Date

As the hot April sun rises over Tamil Nadu, homes fill with the soft scent of mango leaves, colourful kolams light up the streets, and families gather with joy in their hearts – it’s Tamil Puthandu, also known as Tamil New Year or Varusha Pirappu.

Celebrated on the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai, which in 2025 falls on Monday, 14th April, Puthandu marks the beginning of a fresh year in the Tamil solar calendar. The festival’s timing aligns closely with the spring harvesting, a nod to nature’s own sense of renewal. At precisely 3:30 AM on the day, the auspicious Sankranti moment signals the start of new beginnings.

This isn’t just a date on a calendar – it’s a deeply rooted tradition that combines spirituality, community bonding, and vibrant cultural heritage. From the sacred “Kanni” viewing ritual to the mouth-watering Mangai Pachadi (a unique dish that brings together sweet, sour and bitter flavours), Tamil Puthandu is a beautiful reminder that life, much like this dish, is all about embracing every rasam.

Story of Tamil Puthandu: People and Celebrations 

Every year in mid-April, Tamil homes across the world light up with joy, aroma, colour, and a deep sense of cultural pride as Tamil Puthandu — the Tamil New Year — arrives. Steeped in history that stretches back to the Sangam era, this festival is more than just the start of a calendar cycle; it is a sacred celebration of creation, renewal, and hope. Legend has it that this was the day Lord Brahma began crafting the universe, while some traditions say Lord Indra descended upon Earth to shower blessings of peace and prosperity — a cosmic beginning mirrored in the earthly rituals of Tamil households.

The day begins before dawn with the sighting of the Kanni, a carefully arranged tray filled with symbols of abundance — ripe bananas, golden mangoes, glossy jackfruit, betel leaves, mirror, coins, rice, and gold — meant to ensure that the first sight of the year is filled with prosperity and sweetness. This ritual of auspicious seeing, followed by a purifying oil bath and the donning of traditional attire — vivid Kanjivaram sarees for women and crisp white veshtis or dhotis for men — sets the tone for a day that is both spiritually charged and visually resplendent. The morning flows into moments of prayer as brass lamps (kuthuvilakku) are lit and incense drifts through homes while families gather to offer puja and visit temples like the iconic Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, where the spectacular Chittirai Thiruvizha brings processions, music, and devotion to life in technicolour.

But Puthandu isn’t just about rituals — it’s also a festival of flavours and feelings. At the centre of the festive meal is the Mangai Pachadi, a dish that’s an edible metaphor — combining raw mango’s tang, jaggery’s sweetness, neem flower’s bitterness, and tamarind’s tartness to reflect the emotional highs and lows of life itself. Alongside this come steaming sambhar, crispy vadai, creamy payasam, and fragrant avial, all served lovingly on banana leaves in a grand vegetarian spread. As laughter and stories float through homes, children bow to elders, receiving blessings and crisp currency notes tucked into their hands — a quiet moment of continuity that binds generations. Intricate kolams bloom across doorsteps, sketched with rice flour in patterns that speak of wealth, fertility, and spiritual beauty.

Across Tamil Nadu and in Tamil communities in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, and far beyond — even in Canada, the UK, and Australia — the celebration plays out with equal fervour, often through temple gatherings, community fairs, and family reunions that preserve identity across continents. In regions like Kongu Nadu, the “Chithirai Kani” is prepared with pride, showing beautiful overlaps with Kerala’s Vishukkani and highlighting the shared cultural rhythms of South India. Tamil Puthandu is not just a festival but a living, breathing tradition — a day to begin again with joy, colour, prayer, and food that touches the soul.

So, whether you’re lighting lamps at home, marvelling at the kolams on the streets, tasting the bitter-sweetness of Mangai Pachadi, or simply soaking in the positive vibes, Tamil Puthandu offers something for everyone. Puthāṇḍu vāḻttukaḷ! Celebrate this Tamil New Year by discovering the rich traditions and spiritual vibrancy of Tamil Nadu – and maybe even planning your next trip to experience it firsthand.