Editing Sri Lanka (section)

=== Food and festivals ===
{{Main|Sri Lankan cuisine|Festivals in Sri Lanka}}
[[File:Sri Lankan Rice and Curry.jpg|thumb|Sri Lankan rice and curry]]

Dishes include rice and curry, [[puttu|pittu]], [[kiribath]], wholemeal [[roti]], [[Idiyappam|string hoppers]], [[watalappam]] (a rich pudding of Malay origin made with [[coconut milk]], jaggery, cashews, eggs, and spices including cinnamon and nutmeg), [[kottu]], and [[appam]].<ref name="simplysl">{{Cite book |author=Jayakody, Padmini |title=Simply Sri Lankan |publisher=Lulu.com |page=3 |place=Australia | isbn=978-1-4092-1942-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxq1FlxUi9YC |year=2008}}</ref> [[Jackfruit]] may sometimes replace rice. Traditionally food is served on a [[Plantain (cooking)|plantain leaf or lotus leaf]]. Middle Eastern influences and practices are found in traditional Moor dishes, while Dutch and Portuguese influences are found with the island's Burgher community preserving their culture through traditional dishes such as [[lamprais]] (rice cooked in stock and baked in a banana leaf), [[breudher]] (Dutch holiday biscuit), and [[Bolo fiado]] (Portuguese-style layer cake).{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

In April, Sri Lankans celebrate the [[Sinhalese New Year|Buddhist]] and [[Tamil New Year|Hindu]] new year festivals.<ref name="dersl">{{Cite book |author=Wickremeratne, Swarna |year=2006 |title=Buddha in Sri Lanka: remembered yesterdays |publisher=SUNY Press |page=31 |isbn=978-0-7914-6881-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QskAmQEACAAJ}}</ref> [[Esala Perahera]] is a symbolic Buddhist festival consisting of dances and decorated elephants held in Kandy in July and August.<ref name="esalasl">{{Cite book |author=Dassanayake, M. B. |year=1970 |title=The Kandy Esala perahera: Asia's most spectacular pageant |publisher=Lake House Bookshop |page=7 |place=Colombo}}</ref> Fire dances, whip dances, Kandyan dances and various other cultural dances are integral parts of the festival. Christians celebrate [[Christmas]] on 25 December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and [[Easter]] to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Tamils celebrate [[Thai Pongal]] and [[Maha Shivaratri]], and Muslims celebrate [[Hajj]] and [[Ramadan]].