Fun and festivities in Myanmar-Burma - celebrations, festivals and cultural events

A vacation in Myanmar (ex-Burma) at any time of the year will surely coincide with some celebration or festival. The country has its own calendar that is connected with moon rhythms. Every month falls to a new zodiac sign, has a unique flower symbol and own holidays and celebrations. In short, there are many interesting holidays in Myanmar. Gregorian calendar is also adopted in the country – this is a reminder of the British colonization. Myanmar uses this calendar to celebrate Christmas that is a state holiday.

An interesting fact – Myanmar people celebrate New Year several times. They celebrate this holiday in January, April, and in accordance with the Christian calendar. Naga people, who live in Chin State that borders with India, celebrate New Year in the middle of January. All participants of the event put on national costumes that feature unusual “gifts” of the jungle: teeth and claws of animals, birds’ feathers, and colorful objects of unknown origin. Naga women decorate their faces with tattoos, drawing them on the forehead and chin. Men make headwear from long colorful feathers. Even nowadays Naga people live just like their ancestors did centuries ago. For foreign guests, it is hard to believe that there are still parts of the world where such ancient traditions are still alive and blooming. They think that events like Naga New Year exist only in films until they see them with their own eyes.

Thingyan or Water Festival is one of the most important celebrations in Myanmar. It marks the starts of a new year. This is a several-days-long festival, during which people splash water or douse one another using all kinds of vessels they can find. Everyone tries to find as funny and unusual water vessel as possible. The festival ends with massive water splashing. People gather in specially designated areas where special water hoses are used to swill everyone present. The holiday ends on the first day of the New Year. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Thingyan is a popular holiday that means New Year is close. The main attributes of this holiday are not much different from the rest of the world: gifts, festive mood, and waiting for miracles. Myanmar people are no different from residents of other countries in this regard. Moreover, the holiday marks the start of the New Year holidays for schoolchildren. Thingyan has an unusual date for tourists from Europe or America – it is celebrated in spring, approximately in the middle of April. As the holiday is calculated in accordance with the lunar calendar, the date is always different.

It is hard to imagine the colorfulness and marvelousness of the event that attracts numerous monks who come to the holiday of Shwedagon Pagoda. Burgundy and brown clothing and golden shine of the temple – this celebration is definitely worth visiting! Monks come on foot and in boats, and their look alone makes all witnesses excited, creating the festive mood. Every tourist who visits Yangon in March can see this celebration.

In January, Bagan (ancient capital) hosts another interesting holiday – the Ananda Temple Festival. Ananda is one of the biggest temples in South East Asia. According to a legend, this event has been celebrated since the building of the temple in 1091 and has been never canceled. This temple keeps the statue of smiling Buddha, one of the most famous landmarks in the country. The festival has one more attractive feature for tourists – this is an amazing opportunity to see the traditional lifestyle of local people. The holiday always brings together thousands of monks, so foreign tourists love visiting this event.

In May, the country celebrates an important Buddhist holiday – the Bodhi Tree Watering Festival. Processions of young girls have become an essential part of the celebration. Girls bring water to the tree, lighting their way with oil lamps. This holiday symbolizes the birth of Buddha. For witnesses and foreign tourists, this event is a quintessence of beauty and grace because girls hold pots with water on their heads, as it is adopted in many countries of the East.

Monsoon rains come to Myanmar in July, marking the start of Vassa Festival or Lenten Season. This holiday coincides with the start of Buddhist Lent, the time when monks devote as much of their time as they can to religion. The fasting period lasts three months and ends together with the end of the rainy season. Tazaungdaing Festival is the holiday that celebrates both of these events. This holiday falls to November for the Gregorian calendar. The months of the festival is called Tazaungmon in the Burmese calendar.

Tazaungdaing is an ancient festival that appeared in the country before its acquaintance with Buddhism. The celebration slowly became connected with religion, and now it has become its essential part. An old tradition of gifting new clothes to monks has become a part of the celebration. Local people sew the clothes themselves. All pagodas host an interesting contest of the best monk outfit sewn by local people. According to a legend, the mother of Gautama, the future Buddha, sew this outfit.

Paper lanterns are one of the most beautiful parts of the event that never ceases to excite and amaze foreign guests and make the festival truly impressive. Thousands of paper lanterns fly in the air like small manmade suns. Because of numerous flying lanterns, shiny fireworks, lighting candles, the festival got its informal name the holiday of fire and light. No big celebration is possible without live music, inspiring songs, and energetic dancing. Tazaungdaing is no exception. This is a truly mesmerizing experience that tourist will surely not forget.