Tamil New Year

The Tamil New Year which starts with Chitthirai 1^st, follows the vernal equinox and generally falls on 14 April of the Gregorian year. 14 April marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and this remains a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

REFERENCES IN ANCIENT LITERATURE

1) Nakkeerar, the author of the Nedunalvaadai writes in the 3rd century that the Sun travels from Mesha/Chitthirai through 11 successive Raasis or signs of the zodiac.  Kūdalūr Kizhaar in the 3rd century refers to Mesha Raasi/Chitthirai as the commencement of the year in the Puranaanooru.

2) The Tolkaapiyam is the oldest surviving Tamil grammar that divides the year into six seasons where Chitterai marks the start of the Ilavenil season or summer. The 8th century Silappadikaaram mentions the 12 Raasis or zodiac signs starting with Mesha/Chitterai.

3) Adiyaarkunalaar, an early medieval commentator or Urai-asiriyar, mentions the 12 months of the Tamil Hindu calendar with particular reference to Chitthirai.

4) There were subsequent inscriptional references in Pagan, Burma dated to the 11th century CE and in Sukhothai, Thailand dated to the 14th century CE to South Indian, often Vaishnavite, courtiers who were tasked with defining the traditional calendar that began in mid-April.

SIGNIFICANCE OF TAMIL CALENDAR

The solar year as adopted by Tamils is quite exact unlike Gregorian calendar which needs a leap year once in four years. Since the sections of the ecliptic are of equal size (i. e. 30°) and the sun’s apparent velocity is not constant, the time the sun needs to pass through each rasi ranges from 29.4 days to 31.6 days. Month-wise average number of days starting from Chitthirai are 30.9, 31.4, 31.6, 31.5, 31.0, 30.5, 29.9, 29.5, 29.4, 29.5, 29.8, 30.3 days. The total number of days for the year works out to 365.3, which is very close to actual sidereal year of 365.2564 days. The actual number of days in any month could vary as per the exact time when sun enters and leaves the particular rasi.

The months of the Tamil Calendar have great significance and are deeply rooted in the faith of the Tamils. Some months are considered very auspicious while a few are considered inauspicious as well. Tamil months start and end based on the Sun's shift from one Rasi to the other but the names of the months are based on the star on the start of Pournami in that month. The name of the month is sometimes the name of the star itself. (e.g. Chitthirai is always the star on the Pournami of the Chitthirai month). This matches with many other calendars followed in other parts of India.

The 10th Tamil month called Thai, falls in the mid-January every year. It is celebrated with much enthusiasm among the Tamil Community all over the world. It is marked by gifting new dresses for the family members and giving prayers to God wishing for prosperity among the people for the coming year. The Thai month is considered as the beginning of the financial year for the Tamils. As Tamils were mostly an agricultural community and they complete their major harvest before the beginning of Thai month, Thai 1 denotes the beginning of their financial year.

The month of Thai and the fifth month of Aavani are considered very auspicious and most marriages usually happen during those months than the other months of the year.

The fourth month of Aadi is considered inauspicious that usually weddings do not happen in the month. Aadi is also the month of preparation for next crop cycle by farmers. Hence, farming communities avoid major events like weddings in this month.

On the contrary (or as advantage) the communities that don't actively contribute/participate in farming - take the advantage of having important functions like wedding in this month. For example, the business community prefers this month for wedding. It is usually the worst month for thriving businesses and recently this situation has changed a lot, as the businesses started providing discount shopping during that particular month.

And another important point to note that for the newly married couple is also an inauspicious month to sleep together. The reason being if the girl who is conceived in this month will deliver the baby in the month of May, the hottest month in Tamil Nadu ('Agni natchathiram ' [pinezu] last 7 days of Chitthirai and [munezu] first 7 days of Vaigasi ) and it will be tough period for baby delivery.

The fifth month of Aavani is considered auspicious among the Tamil orthodox people, and the special occasion of Aavani Avittam marks the month. Each Sunday of this month is set aside for prayer.

The sixth month of Purattaasi is auspicious to the effect that, most of the non-vegetarian Tamil people do not eat meat during the month. This faith can be considered much similar to the fasting by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Each Saturday of this month is set apart to venerate the planet saturn.

The full moon days and the new moon days have considerable importance among the Tamil people. One of the famous festivals, the Deepavali, is celebrated on the new moon day, in the seventh month of Aipassi. The month of Aipassi is usually characterised by the North-East Monsoon in Tamil Nadu, which has given birth to a phrase, Aipassi Adai Mazhaimeaning the 'Non-stop Downpour'.

The Festival of Thirukaarthigai is celebrated during the eighth month of Kaarthigai. Each Monday of this month is dedicated to the worship of Shiva. The ninth month of Maargazhiis characterised by the winter in Tamil Nadu, and considered auspicious for maiden women to find their groom. The Shaivite fast of Tiru-vembaavai and the Vaishnava fast of Tiru-paavai are observed in this month.

  

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is today's internationally accepted civil calendar and is also known as the Western or Christian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. It is a solar calendar based on a 365-day common year divided into 12 months of irregular lengths.11 of the months have either 30 or 31 days, while the second month, February, has only 28 days during the common year.

However, every four years is a leap year, when one extra – or intercalary – day, is added on 29 February, making the leap year in the Gregorian calendar 366 days long. The Gregorian calendar's, replaced the Julian calendar because it was too inaccurate. It did not properly reflect the actual time it takes the Earth to circle once around the Sun, known as a tropical year. The Julian calendar's formula to calculate leap years produced a leap year every four years. This is too often, and eventually the Julian calendar had become 10 days out of synchrony with the solar cycle.

The Gregorian calendar was first adopted in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain in 1582. New formula for calculating leap years was adopted, the year is evenly divisible by 4. The more advanced leap year formula makes the Gregorian calendar far more accurate than the Julian. However, it is not perfect either. Compared to the tropical year, it is off by one day every 3236 years.

Although the Gregorian calendar is named after Pope Gregory XIII, it is an adaptation of a calendar designed by Italian doctor, astronomer and philosopher Luigi Lilio (also known as Aloysius Lilius). He was born around 1510 and died in 1576, six years before his calendar was officially introduced.

It got birth in Vatican pope Gregory VII. In October, 1582, 10 days were dropped from the calendar. England and the American colonies were late in adopting the calendar. In 1752, they dropped 11 days.

Julian Calender

The Julian calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE and replaced the Roman calendar, which was a very complicated lunar calendar, based on the moon phases. It required a group of people to decide when days should be added or removed in order to keep the calendar in sync with the astronomical seasons, marked by equinoxes and solstices. In order to create a more standardized calendar, Julius Caesar consulted an Alexandrian astronomer named Sosigenes and created a more regulated civil calendar, a solar calendar based entirely on Earth's revolutions around the Sun, also called a tropical year. It takes our planet on average, approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds (365.242189 days) to complete one full orbit around the Sun. A common year in the Julian calendar has 365 days divided into 12 months. In the Julian calendar, every four years is a leap year, with a leap day added to the month of February.

Robert Caldwell - A Great historian

As a missionary Caldwell came to India, his journey from Madras to Idayankudi on foot, his experience with the people and his contact with them made him a historian. He was pioneer in introducing local historiography.  He was aware of the paucity of sources of history in most of the districts of India. In the absence of genuine historical literature, historians have to rely upon other reliable data. Caldwell as Indologist narrated the social life of the people vividly in his writings. 

Caldwell considered geography is the right eye of history and was very clear that the deciding factor of history of a country is its geography. He found out that the learned Indians lack geographical knowledge so in the book "History of Trinelveli" he begins with a description of the physical and geographical features of Trinelveli.

He made a call to the graduates to make a systematic study of the history of South India, in the light of inscriptions and coins at Madras University convocation address in 1879. Historians accuse Caldwell of not adopting any methodology, but everyone will acknowledge that he marked the beginning of local historical writing. " Any body can make history, only a great man can write" was the famous quotation of Oscar Wilde and Caldwell is placed in the line of great historians.   

Christmas or X mas

The history of the word “Xmas” is actually more respectable — and fascinating — than you might suspect. First of all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements. It was first used in the mid-1500s. This term "Xmas"­ isn't a modern convention at all. It was used commonly in 16th-century Europe, when many people began using the term "Christos," the Greek translation for Christ, to refer to Jesus. X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός.  Χριστός means “Christ.” X has been an acceptable representation of the word “Christ” for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram. The ‘mas’ in Xmas is the Old English word for “mass.”  In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word “Christian.” the term Xmas was used to refer to the birth of Jesus as an informed abbreviation, not an offensive one. Xmas was a way for Christian scholars to refer to Jesus respectfully in an ancient language -- not to disrespect his name with a harsh symbol. Eventually, this shorthand trick spread to non-religious writings where nearly everywhere “Christ” appeared in a word, the Greek Chi would replace that part of the word. For example, in the 17th and 18th centuries, there are numerous non-religious documents containing instances of “Xine”, which was a common spelling for someone whose name was Christine.

The History of the Nativity Scene

The Birth of the Nativity Scene

The first-ever Nativity scene recorded in history was created by St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was concerned that the meaning of Christmas was becoming lost as most people were more focused with the ritual of gift giving them they were of the true message of Christmas.

Determined to remind people what Christmas is really about, he set about creating the world’s first known Nativity scene to help tell his people of The Nativity Story. It was created in a cave and near Greccio, Italy, and involved real people and animals, making it a living Nativity scene.

Today, nearly 800 years later, we still hear religious leaders echoing St. Francis’s words. The true message of Christmas is becoming lost; buried underneath layers of secular traditions. Yet at the same time, we also still see nativities everywhere come Christmas time.

While living Nativity scenes still exist today, much more popular are static versions that require no real people or animals. Some of the most famous Nativity scenes can be found at the Vatican, the White House, and in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

How Nativity Scenes Came to our Homes

Nativity scenes and sets as we know them today found their roots in the 1300’s. They started as display pieces for Italian churches. Often made out of terracotta, these early Nativity sets were displayed year round.

In the mid-1500’s, Nativity sets began to appear Not only in churches, but in the homes of wealthier citizens, even though some prominent religious groups in Italy at the time were attempting to move away from nativities altogether.

These are much smaller versions than the large statue found in churches. Instead of being constructed solely of terracotta, artisans began using wax and wood as well. They were also dressed in beautiful clothes.

Over the years, the nativities spread to practically all Christian countries, each region adding its own influence and unique style. Traditions were also developed in some countries, most notably in Central American and Mediterranean countries.

The home Nativity was picked up more than anybody by the Germans, where Catholic and Protestant families alike display them in their homes. It is still tradition in Germany to display all parts of the Nativity set with the exception of baby Jesus, who is only displayed after Christmas Eve, as before that time he is not yet been born. Most other regions, including America, do not follow this tradition.

Today’s Nativity Sets

Today, the typical Nativity set is made out of more modern materials, such as porcelain, ceramic, resin, and sometimes china, but some sets are still carved out of wood, or even a more expensive olive wood.

The basic nativity set should consist of at least five pieces. The stable, of course, is the setting. The manger where baby Jesus will rest, is placed front and center in the stable. This is because Jesus is the most significant piece in any Nativity set. Mary and Joseph are also prominent, but not as prominent. Mary is often placed right beside the manger, fondly looking over her son, while Joseph can either be placed on the other side of the manger looking down on Jesus, or slightly away from the manger looking away. Together, these five pieces, stable, manger, Christ child, Mary and Joseph, make a complete yet basic set.

In addition to the basic set, it is not uncommon to add the star of Bethlehem, the Angel Gabriel, the shepherds, the Wisemen, and various barn animals. Many people consider keeping a Nativity on display over the Christmas holidays is a great way to remind us all of the true message of Christmas. Nativity scenes can start out small, and become hobbies for families, where a new piece or pieces are added each year.

The oldest church

St.Thomas Church Thiruvithancode

In olden times Thiruvithancode was the capital of Travancore Kingdom.  Thiruvithamcode Arappally (“Royal Church”); Tamil:திருவிதாங்கோடு அரப்பள்ளி; Malayalam: തിരുവിതാംകോട് അരപ്പള്ളി;), or Thomayar Kovil or St. Mary's Orthodox Church, also called Amalagiri church as named by the Chera King Uthiyan Cheralathan, was built by St. Thomas, known as the Apostle of India, in 57 AD. Thiruvithamcode also spelled as Thiruvithancode, Thiruvithankodu and Thiruvithangodu.

It is believed by the Christian communities that St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus Christ came to India, preached the gospel and established churches in Crangannore, Palur, Paraur, Gokkamangalam, Niranam, Chayal, Kollam and Thiruvithancode and appointed prelates and priests. The Thiruvithamcode church was built in AD 63, is believed to be one of the oldest church structures in the world.

Some people have misunderstand that “Arapally” means half church (Ara means half) and the myth is propagated far and wide. But here the word “Ara” related to the word “King”. Arappalli means King’s Church; such as Aramana (King’s House), Arayal (King Tree), and Arayannam (King Bird) in the local language. The word ‘ara’ in Arapally doesn’t necessarily mean ‘half’ as is understood in the local language. Instead, it could denote a royal connection, because the Dravidian word for king, is ‘Arasan’. Thus the church could have been termed ‘Arapally’ because it was constructed and maintained with the support and patronage of local kings,” says Rev. Barsleebi Ramban.

However, there are also those who believe that Arapally is, literally, only a half church because, according to tradition, St. Thomas only established a cross here for 64 families of converted Christian who moved to the area from Mylapore, fearing persecution from rulers. St.Thomas brought them to Travancore crossing the Sahya parvatham (western ghats ) via aruvamozhy pass. When they had arrived at Travancore, the local King of Venad Imayavaramban Chera Ladan received them and offered them land and food. They accepted all the gifts but politely refused to accept vibhuthi and hence they were called ‘vibhudi dhariya chettis’ among the natives. Metropolitan Pulikotil Joseph Mar Dionysius II in his travelogue mentions that he reached Thiruvithamcode, went to a Church belonging to the TharissaiChristians.

The land of Thiruvithancode church was donated by the King of Venad, Nedum Cheralathan. Hence the church was publicly known as Arappalli (Arayan Palli or King’s Church). There are some ancient references to the church such as in the Book of Duarte Barbosa, which talks about ‘Tharusayikkal’ believed to be about Thiruvithamcode.

Among the local people this church is also known as “Thomayar Kovil” from very ancient period. Thomayar Kovil means Temple of St. Thomas. It is a common belief in the locality that it was built by St. Thomas.

Note: The church refers to the community of people rather than the structure.