Households clean up the house, prepare a tray with fruits, flowers and auspicious items, light up the family puja altar and visit their local temples.

People wear new clothes and children go to elders to pay their respects and seek their blessings, then the family sits down to a vegetarian feast.

The same date is observed as the traditional new year in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, as well as in Nepal and Bangladesh.

Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Sri Lanka also celebrate the same day as their new year,[7] likely an influence of the shared culture between South and Southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.

Nakkirar, Sangam period author of the Neṭunalvāṭai, wrote that the sun travels from Mesha/Chittirai through 11 successive signs of the zodiac.

Adiyarkunalaar, an early medieval commentator or Urai-asiriyar mentions the twelve months of the Tamil calendar with particular reference to Chittirai.

[17] Chithiraikani, also known as Vishukani, is an important part of the Puthandu celebrations in the Kongu Nadu region, which share similarities with Vishu celebrations in Kerala and Tulu Nadu.This ChithiraiKani practice involves arrangement of a special tray containing auspicious items that are displayed in front of a mirror.

The word "kani" in Kongu Tamil and Malayalam means "that which is seen first," and both celebrations involve arranging a special tray of auspicious items that are displayed in front of a mirror.

The traditional belief is that viewing joyful and auspicious things first on the new year day brings prosperity and good luck.

The Chithiraikani or Vishukani tray typically includes three fruits (mango, banana, and jackfruit), betel leaves, rice, lemon, cucumber, coconut cut open, arecanut, gold or silver jewelry, coins or money, flowers, and a mirror, among other things that symbolize wealth and prosperity.

The game of 'por-thenkai' or coconut wars between youth is played in villages through the Tamil north and east of the island while cart races are also held.

[24] The festive Puthandu season in April is a time for family visits and the renewal of filial bonds.

Special religious events are held in Hindu temples, in Tamil community centers and Gurdwaras.

[38] The legislative reach to change the traditional religious new year by the DMK government was questioned by Hindu priests and Tamil scholars.

[44][45] The then opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) in Tamil Nadu subsequently condemned the decision of the DMK Government in that state and urged their supporters to continue celebrating the traditional date in mid-April.

All television channels in Tamil Nadu, including the pro-DMK Sun TV, continued to telecast festive "Chittirai Tirunal Special Programs" on 14 April 2010.

New Year celebrations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana's Ugadi & Maharashtra and Goa's Gudi Padwa, falls a few days before Puthandu.

It is marked by an occasion to visit family and friends, splashing others with water (like Holi), drinking alcohol, as well as later wearing jewelry, new clothes and socializing.