Festivals in Myanmar

Burmese people are festive and every month there are some local festivals through the whole country. It takes place mainly in the pagoda. We spoke about “pagodas festival” or “paya pwe” and it is usually hold during the full moon days, after the main rice harvest. These events are as well a way for the “twelve fairs traders” to get from one fair to another one. As well, these event are mainly hold accordingly to the lunar calendar.

• January 4th: the Independence Day is widely celebrated and especially in Yangon by the Kandawgyi Lake Festival which last 7 days.

• January: Kachin Manaw Festival in Myitkyina. The Kachin Manaw Festival is yearly celebrated on the Kachin State Day to mark victory, success as well as joyous or auspicious occasions like bountiful harvest, happy marriage or housewarming

• January: NAGA New Year Festival in Sagaing Division is celebrated every year in January and the gathering place for this auspicious occasion is a rotation; in one of the townships in Sagaing Division viz Khamti, Layshi, Namying and Lahe. There is a great feasting and the NAGA get attired in their colourful costumes and headdresses.

• February: Htamane Festival or Community Cooking Festival aims to prepare the htamin which is a kind of sticky rice cake (with coconut, sesame seed, ginger) and to give it as offering to Buddha. It aims as well to enjoy the harvest season. This work is really a communal enjoyment where everybody meet.

• March/April: The lunar month of Taboung is dedicated by the Pagoda Festival. In Yangon it is hold at the Schwedagon Pagoda. In the countryside, for the full moon, they usually build some new sand paya (pagoda) on the bank of river. This festival is marked by music, local performance and theater.

• Mid-April: The most important festival of the year is hold in April: the Water Festival. Thingyan in local langage marks as well the burmese new year. Anywhere in the country some temporary theather “pandal” take places in the streets to splash people with water. On a spiritual side, people believe that Thagyamin, the king of the spirits (nat) come to visit them for three days to account the good and bad actions. For that, they display flowers and sacred leaves in front of their house to welcome to the nat.

• May: Buddha’s Birth Festival commemorate as well the Birth, the enlightening and the passing to the death (nibbana). This event is hold at the Bo-Tree (Buddha Tree: banyan), the tree under which one Buddha get the enlightening. People pour water to the sacred tree, and especially at the Schwedagon Pagoda where some women carry jars of water to sprinkle three banyan trees at the west of the temple

• July: Beginning of the three months Buddhist Lent. Normally people offers items to the pagodas and monks who will start a three months retreat. People practicing the religion try to follow eight precepts insteed of five usually. At this period people avoid to married and as well to move house

• July/August: Wagaung Festival. During this festival, a draw will determine who will do some offering to the monks. This fair last 7 days at Taungbyone, 30km north from Mandalay. In the olden days, the name of the monk was written on a bamboo stick, nowadays, it is on a roll paper

• September/October: The Boat Racing or Royal Regatta on the Ayayawaddy river is a good way to learn about the local culture and to see how physical is the rowing boat race. People from different division of the country as well from different ministries confront one another. At Inle Lake it is interesting to observe the transportation of Buddha’s statue of Phaung Daw U Kyaung on the royal boat “Karaweik”

• October: Thadingyut or the Lights Festival marks the end of the Buddhist Lent. Monks can travel again from pagodas to pagodas or get to sacred and holy sites such as Kyaiktiyo or Mount Popa. This event celebrate as well the returjn of Buddha and for three days, all the country is illuminated by lanterns, candles in front of each house. Several “pwe” are organised through the country

• October/November: Tazaungmon during the full moon is a kind of Lights Festival and is particularly vivace in Shan State: some lantern contests are organised at Taunggyi or weaving contests. For weaving contests, during the night, weavers make some robe that will be offered to the shrine and Buddha’s statues in the morning

• November: One month after the end of the Buddhist Lent, Kahtein is a one month period where people give offering, gift or money to the monks communities. Often, people give money that it is fixed on a “padetha”, folded in different pattern

• November/December: These two months are the months of Nadaw and as well a time with several local festival called nat pwe. These local fairs are opportunities for the farmer to take a break.

• December/January: Kayin New Year is a very popular festival. Through the country, kayin people wear their traditional clothes for singing and dancing as the tradition. The main events are in Insein, close to Yangon and at Hpa-An, the capital of the Hayin State