Festivals preserve cultural values: Prez

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said he believed that cultural festivals would pave the way to protect and preserve the values of different religions, ethnic communities and cultures.

In his Thai Pongal message he said: “I am extremely happy to convey my greetings to all the Hindus across the world celebrating Thai Pongal, the festival that expresses gratitude to the Sun God, the supreme provider of light, warmth, water and wind essential the agriculture, the lifeline to human sustenance.

“The prime status bestowed upon agriculture by the Tamil community denotes in the historic quote ‘We’ll worship agriculture’ of the great Tamil poet Bharathiyar.

“The people, who live close to nature by making the agricultural their vocation for livelihood, extend their greatest gratitude to nature for its generosity on this festive day of Thai Pongal.

“Symbolizing the intention of creating love, happiness and reconciliation in the hearts of all, the Tamil people boil milk in the clay pot until it overflows and mixes it with the First harvest of rice and jaggery for the traditional festive meal. I earnestly believe this kind of cultural festival will pave the way to protect and preserve the values of different religions, ethnic communities and cultures.

“The Tamil community believes that the dawn of the New Year will open new paths to the life. I wish all the Hindus in Sri Lanka and abroad a happy and prosperous Thai Pongal, which enhances the strong bond between human beings and nature while demonstrating the values of the Tamil culture and art,” he said.

The people, who live close to nature by making the agricultural their vocation for livelihood, extend their greatest gratitude to nature for its generosity on this festive day of Thai Pongal