Tamil New Year / Puthandu 2025 தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு

The day in the Tamil calendar

Timings for Chennai. The date follows the Tamil Nadu calendar.

About the festival

Puthandu is the Tamil New Year, observed on the first day of the Tamil month of Chithirai, which usually falls on 14 April.^1,2,3

Families traditionally clean and decorate their homes with kolam, arrange a tray of fruits, flowers, betel leaves and other auspicious items, visit temples and share a festive vegetarian meal.^1,2

Between 2008 and 2011 a Tamil Nadu law named the first day of Thai as the Tamil New Year; that law was repealed in 2011 and the Chithirai date was restored.^1,2

Tamil New Year's Day is a public holiday in Tamil Nadu.³

When it falls: Puthandu falls on the first day of Chithirai, the Tamil solar month that begins when the Sun enters the sidereal sign Mesha (Aries).^1,2,4

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Puthandu
2. scroll.in
3. dtnext.in
4. Wikipedia: Tamil calendar

Tamil New Year / Puthandu in other years