VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh endowment department put out a circular banning New Year darshan and decorations across temples in the state from 2018. It said that only Ugadi should be celebrated as the New Year and that the temples should replace the English calendar.
Priests and endowment officers used to conduct special programmes on January 1 across temples in the state.
The first of its kind circular from Hindu Dharma Prachara Trust of endowments department secretary Dr Chilakapati Vijaya Raghava Charyulu said the “Christian era” (Gregorian calendar) was being followed even after independence from the English 70 years ago.
As New Year celebrations were not Hindu Vedic culture and ‘English culture’ still prevailed in Hindu temples where devotees were wished with New Year greetings and lakhs were spent on decorations in temples, the custom had to be stopped.
Commissioner Y.V. Anuradha ordered an end to this tradition and instead temples and authorities celebrate New Year as part of the Ugadi festival in the month of Chaitra according to the Hindu tradition.
