Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the only regions in India which follow the lunar calendar year (Chandra varusham) unlike the other regions which mostly follow the solar calendar year (Ravi varusham). The Tamil New year is born in the middle of April which is the first day of the month of Chithirai according to the Tamil calendar and it always begins on the new moon (Amavasya). People celebrate the new year like a religious festival and in Tiruvannamalai too, on this day they do giri pradakshina, perform pujas and religious ceremonies in their homes and then go to temples to worship the Lord.

In the big temple of Lord Arunachaleswara, the beautiful golden chariot is taken out in honour of this day and the God and Goddess ride out on procession in all their magnificence and splendour. It is indeed a wondrous sight to see the Gods bedecked with jewels and flowers, seated majestically inside the chariot of pure gold and the air is rent with loud exclamations of wonder and piety as the chariot makes its way, around the vast courtyard of the temple, pulled by hundreds of earnest hands.

Earlier, the chief priest of the temple has read out the ‘Panchangam’ (traditional tamil almanac) with various predictions and auspicious interventions. The year born today is called ‘Vikruthi’. During the course of the month, the Nakshatra (constellation) Tiruvonam will be consecrated to Lord Nataraja and that of Satayam to the tamil saivaite saint Appar. But the main festival of the month is of course Vasantha, the spring festival which is dedicated to the death and resurrection of Sri Kama deva, god of desire. The spiritual significance of this is the destruction of worldly desire in order to give rise to the pure desireless being.

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