(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – The 69th Independence Day will be celebrated on February 4th at the Galle face green on the theme National Unity. The celebrations will start at 8 a.m. and finish at 12 p.m.
In parallel, 23 National day celebrations will be held in the districts with the patronage of the District Secretaries, Chief Ministers and peoples representatives. In addition, Independence Day celebrations will also be held at high commissions around the world on 4th February.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs requests to hoist the national flag at all public institutions, homes and vehicles to show the importance of all people in the country living in peace.
On February 2nd an all-night pirith ceremony will be held at the Independence Hall at Independence square while an almsgiving will be offered at the Vajiraramaya, Bambalapitiya.
On 4th February Buddhist religious observances will be held at Polwatta Dharmakeerthiyaramaya, Colombo at 6.30 a.m, a Hindu pooja will be held at Sri Ponnambalawaneswaran Kovil , Colombo 13 at 6.30 a.m, Islamic prayers at Grand Mosque Colombo 12 at 6 a.m, A catholic service at St. Theresa Church Thimbirigasyaya at 6.30am as well as a Christian service at the St. Luke Church Borella at 6.30am.
Buddhist religious observance will be held under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, all the Colombo district ministers, and MPs.
Hindu religious observances will be held under the patronage of minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan, Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development Palani Digambaram, Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Mano Ganeshan, State Minister for Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran and State Minister of Education V. Rathakrishnan.
Islam Religious observances will be held under the patronage of Minister of Posts Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs M.H.A. Haleem, Minister of Public Enterprise Development Kabir Hashim, Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishard Bathiudeen, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauf Hakeem, Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils Faizer Mustapha and State Minister National Integration and Reconciliation A.H.M. Fowzie.
Roman Catholic religious observances will be held under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga.
Christian religious observances will be held under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Public Enterprise Development Eran Wickramarathna.
Floral tributes will be offered at the statue of late D.S. Senanayake by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, State Ministers Ruwan Wijayawardena, Wasantha Senanayake, Buddhika Pathirana, Former minister Rukman Senanayake, Southern Province Governor Dr. Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Chief Secretary of D.S. Senanayake Memorial Committee Dr I. Dissanayake and Municipal Commissioner Colombo Municipal Council A.K. Anura.