Every celebration is rooted in joy. But in SriLanka, we take a step further in honouring and cherishing life’s manymilestones, both big and small, with tightly guarded traditions, marvelousfeasts and a whole lot of booze.

The celebratory spirit finds its way into ourhearts during major festivals like Sinhala and Tamil New Year as well as duringweddings, birthdays, and anniversaries. It’s then when friends and familiesgather, draped in traditional clothing to simply enjoy a table full of festivemeals and snacks. And this August, we do exactly that, as we come together tocelebrate one year of Kolamba East, our Sri Lankan restaurant in London.

We are proud to announce that it’s been a yearfull of memories at KolambaEast, sharing a part of our island home in theheart of London. So join us, as we guide you through the art of celebratinglike a true Sri Lankan.

What we wear

Major festivals like Avurudu (Sinhala and Tamil Year), or traditionalweddings and other cultural celebrations bring out elaborate garments, such asthe six-feet-long sari, osariya (thenational costume of Sri Lankan women known as the Kandyan sari with a frilledwaist), sarongs (full length fabric wrapped around the waist) and vibrantblouses. At weddings and other grand celebrations, saris are a popular choicefor Sri Lankan women. Men, meanwhile, opt for sarongs topped with a shirt or aWestern-style suit. Sometimes, smaller, tight-knit gatherings with friends,family or coworkers, like anniversaries or housewarming ceremonies, becomes avibrant yet simple statement of Sri Lankan fashion with embroidered blouses(also known as redda and hettaya inSinhala), kurtas (long tunics) and batik (a wax-resist fabric dyeing technique)sarongs.

Children mimic the adults, with young girls inlama sari (similar to sari draping)and boys wearing shirts and sarongs. Our accessories vary, with gold jewelryand fresh, fragrant flowers like jasmine complementing long black hair. Whileconventional celebrations usually call for traditional garments, depending onthe occasion – such as birthdays or Christmas – we don’t shy away from aWestern gown or a suit.

Our festive traditions in Sri Lanka

At the heart of every celebration liestradition. One of my earliest memories is the lighting of a coconut oil lamp ata school event. I remember the long body of the brass lamp with a wide curvedbase full of meticulous floral carvings, topped with a brass rooster. Thesegolden lamps, often found during events and celebrations, are known as pol thel pahana in Sinahala and vilakku in Tamil. By lighting the lamp,we hope to welcome purity, wisdom and a new start to life.

The beginning of something new – think of awedding, housewarming ceremony or starting a business – also follows the ritualof kiri Itiraweema (lighting thehearth), inviting abundance, good fortune and divine blessings. A claypot fullof cow’s milk or coconut milk boils and overflows over the woodfire, while thecrowd sometimes recites religious chants. These traditions are also ubiquitousduring the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April every year, where people boilmilk at an auspicious time.

While these customs often revolve around religion,folklore and traditional belief systems, we also have our own way of adding funand play into a celebration. A party isn’t complete without loud music andspontaneous dancing from the crowd. In any event where there’s music, you willfind a unique Sri Lankan music genre called baila,originating from Sri Lanka’s Afro-Portuguese community. The rhythmic andrather playful lyrics of baila pair well with booze, mainly strong liquor suchas arrack, a brandy-like spirit madefrom the sap of the coconut palm flower. And then there are fire crackers, too,a way to spread the good news around.

What we eat

More than anything, what gives every SriLankan a sense of belonging is the familiar sight of our traditional food onthe dining table. Celebrations call for dishes that are considered lavish,latching into our tastebuds and core memories. One of them is the yellow rice (kaha bath) made with more expensive,slender grains of rice like samba or basmati. Kaha bath is cooked with adollop of ghee or thick coconut milk, scented with spices like cardamom,cinnamon, and cloves, and coloured yellow with a pinch of turmeric. Oncecooked, roasted cashew nuts, a handful of aromatic curry leaves and a pinch of turmericdecorate the hot bed of rice. Sri Lankan chicken curry,which is also part of our menu at Kolamba East, creamy dhal curry and eggplant moju (sweet and sour pickled eggplant)become great pairing dishes.

As our cuisine is rice centred, another dishyou'll see at every celebration is kiribath,also known as milk rice. Typically consumed during the day, kiribath is ricecooked in thick coconut milk or cow’s milk, and sometimes with a combination ofboth. Cut into squares or diamond-shaped pieces, this creamy, rich daytime mealpairs well with katta sambal (spicycondiment made with red chilli) chicken curry, and sometimes with a ripe bananafor those who have a sweet tooth.

While kiribath is usually an entree at aparty, there are other snacks, too, which are both savory and sweet. We loveenjoying short eats (an umbrella term used for all kinds of Sri Lankan snacks)like cutlet, small, deep-fried croquettes of fish and potato covered inbreadcrumbs; fish buns, soft baked buns stuffed with a spicy filling of cannedtuna; and vegetable roti, pockets of flatbread loaded with a spicy vegetablefilling and browned on a hot, oiled pan. Traditional sweetmeats like kokis (a deep-fried crunchy snack madeof turmeric-coloured coconut and rice flour batter), aasmi (a deep-fried, noodle-like sweet), aggala (sweet coconut and ground rice balls), and kavum (deep fried, sugary fermented ricedough) are also a must in New Year gatherings.

And you cannot, quite truly, call it a SriLankan party without booze in it. Islanders often take pleasure in consumingalcohol, vibing to loud music and parties lit up with disco lights. We takepride in our Lion beer, a crowd pleaser at every event. Cocktails, like what we offer atour Sri Lankan restaurant in London, are also popular, along with arrack andbites that go hand in hand, like hot butter cuttlefish, deviled chicken (asweet, sour and spicy preparation) and murukku(fried noodle-like dough dusted with chilli powder).

A non-alocholic favourite is the punchycordial full of fruity flavours. At home, celebrations call for Sri Lankanstyle sweet iced coffee and falooda (a dessert drink made of vermicelli, jelly,rose syrup, basil seeds, milk and ice cream).

One of my favorite desserts to end acelebratory meal, however, is wattalapam,a creamy egg custard made from jaggery and coconut milk, which is also part ofour menu at Kolamba. Then there are others, too, like cups of soft, subtlycrunchy chocolate biscuit pudding, butter cake, and buffalo curd topped with kithul treacle (a natural sweetener madefrom the sap of the fishtail palm flower).

In Sri Lanka, celebrations are a nod tocenturies of heritage and a cuisine shaped by diverse cultures. So this August,come join us to celebrate one year of Kolamba East.

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