Recently the Colombo District Pensioners' Association had their
                          annual get- together at the Bank Hill sports complex Pelawatte Battaramulla
The General Manager Mr Gunasekara being welcomed by the participants



 





WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY THAI PONGAL

Thai Pongal
Pongal is one of the most popular harvest festivals of Hindus. Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the auspicious beginning of Uttarayana - which represents the northward journey of Sun.

Pongal follows the winter solstice and marks the favorable course of the Sun, when He purportedly enters the 10th house, Capricorn. Pongal is traditionally dedicated to the Sun God to thank the solar deity for the good harvest and sanctifies the first grain to him on this 'Surya Mangalyam'.
Pongal in Tamil means "spill over" or "boiling over". The boiling over of milk in the clay pot symbolizes material abundance for the household. The saying often quoted regarding the Pongal festival is "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities". The festival usually occurs from the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Thai.
The Vedic Winter Solstice is also known in South India as "Pongal" or the harvest time and thanksgiving festival. Agriculturists, who provide the world with our food stores, look to the Sun to guide them on planting as well as harvesting seasons. In India, the farmers celebrate the Sun as playing a critical role in the growth of rice paddy and other agricultural activities. The Thai Pongal festival is anticipated not only as a Thanksgiving for a bountiful rice and sugar cane harvest but as a renewal of life energies. This is a 4 day festival.  
Bogi Pongal is a good time to clean your home; clean your closets and throw out old items that you are not using or that no longer suit your life; that carry the vibrations of the past. Spiritually, this symbolizes overhauling your current life and preparing room for the new abundance and happiness to come in. Clear some space for your higher self.
Pongal Day is celebrated as the harvest day. On this day, the cooking of rice with sweet raw sugar cane, jaggary is done during sunrise in a small pot, usually outdoors as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. “Pongalo Pongal” is recited by everyone in a festive tone and is considered a prayer of thanks to the Sun and to receive the full blessings.
The 3rd day is known as Mattu or Cow Pongal. This is traditionally a time to celebrate the harvest and share the spoils. People, cows, crows and ants are all well fed and their part in the big eco wheel is acknowledged.
The 4th Day or Kannum Pongal day is the time to gather with family, buy new clothes etc. This charges the day with a festive new air to welcome in the new luck and fortune.









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New Year Greetings
Significance Of New Year
New year is the most celebrated festival in the modern world. Modern Calendar known as AD (Anno domini) starts at January 1st, almost all over the world celebrate the first day on this calendar, regardless of what they follow.
As the time travels 24 hours around the world this festival also travel along the time and triggers a nonstop festival for world.  Normally every city and groups celebrate the arrival of New Year with fireworks and party.
New Year is the time to visit our relatives and friends
to warm up relations and strengthen friendship
wishing you a New Year with fun and party
with relatives and friends
On this new year our resolution may be
To face our challenges with courage and confidence,
To spread love and affection to our dear and nears
To lead a life of success and victory
To pray to God for all those blessings

May this New Year brings you
Immense happiness in all you do
May the fireworks brings you
The sound of Victory in your ear
New Year comes with glows of hopes in our mind
it gives us new confidence and courage for a fresh start
New Year is the time for fun and party
so let us have party and dance
to welcome a New Year with luck and success

Wishing you a New Year
that brings luck and prosperity
fills your home with joy and spirit

Happy New Year



 













Very large number of BOC pensioners have now made Australia their new home. I thought it very fitting to keep you abreast of how Christmas is celebrated in Australia. I have no doubt that many BOC old cronies based in Sydney,Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane would be celebrating with much cheer.

Wish you all a merry Christmas

D B T Edirisinghe 


Christmas In Australia
If dazzling festivities and fervor make a festival, the Christmas celebrations in Australia quite equal the observances of the festival in Western cities like New York, London, Paris or Vancouver. The one exception is that in Australia, Christmas is rarely white for snow almost never falls on this date. Instead of white, snowy scenery, Australia is filled with blue skies and sunshine and intense heat sometimes up to 35 degrees Centigrade (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Thus, Christmas is special to Australians as it is Summer Holiday season for them.
Till recently, the Australian Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by the English way of observing the festival. But with the boom in Australian education, more and more people are coming into the country from different parts of the world. As a result, Christmas in Australia has been influenced by the culture of various ethnic groups. At present, the Australian population is just over 18 million and is a harmonious mix of many ethnic groups. Naturally, the festival is observed differently in different parts of the country. For many, it is the occasion to be with friends and relatives, to share love and friendship and giving and receiving of gifts. Generally, Christmas is celebrated along traditional lines and families often travel great distances to be together. Much before 25th night, children write letters to Santa Claus and wait for his arrival hanging stockings with gifts for them on the night of Christmas Eve. In homes, many of the traditional Christmas rituals are being followed. Homes across the country are decorated in the customary way. Children help their elders to decorate the family Christmas tree. Australians also sing carols by candlelight and decorate their homes with flowers and other plants. Sending greetings and handing over gifts are also very popular here. Church is attended in great numbers for mass on Christmas Day. Services are often held very early in the morning. The atmosphere being conductive, many have Christmas dinner in the woods or on the beach in the style of a picnic.
Public celebrations include Carols by Candlelight Concert, on Christmas Eve, held at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne and Carols in the Domain, Australia's largest annual community Christmas celebration. The event is free to attend. It is always held on the last Saturday before Christmas in Sydney's Domain Gardens, a short distance away from the Sydney Opera House. These events are broadcast live on television and radio throughout the country and viewed through Southeast Asia and New Zealand. The attendance usually ranges from 70,000 - 100,000 with nearly two million television viewers.