Thailand and Cambodia have water festivals come Nov. 22nd-25th. Does Burma have the same?
Where is the best festival in Burma?
What happens, and a general description of the festival, please.
Thanks again!
alohatiger
1
utom
The festival in Myanmar is called Tazaungdaing. It is celebrated differently in Myanmar.
The most important religious element of the holiday is the offering of robes to monks. Additionally, weaving contests are held at pagodas all over the country. I have never seen the weaving contests, but supposedly the competitions can get rather raucous! Beware of those weaving hooligans!
They also celebrate with hot air balloons. Montyman has written about the festival in Taunggyi in recent days, and has linked to photos. This is definitely the most visual part of the celebration.
I think you may be confusing Loy Kratong with Songkran, which is called Thingyan in Myanmar. The only H2O in Loy Kratong is the river water into which the Thais place their kratongs. It is not really a celebration of water, which Thingyan and Songkran clearly are.
3
ava_man
Tazaungdaing is the second "light" festival after Thadingyut ( which is the first ) . This time in SE Asia marks the end of the monsoons and the end of Buddhist lent . Loy Kratong is the way the Thais mark this time of year . In Burma the same process stretches over both October and November .
Thingyan and Songkran mean the same thing . The Burmese lisp the Pali 's' to a 'th' and have similarly lost the 'r' to a 'y' glide over the centuries . The 'k' is hardened to a 'g' in the spoken form ( eg like Yan Kon to Yan gon )
Thingyan - spelt Thin Kyan ( previously spelt and presumed originally pronounced Sang Kran )
Other examples are - Sangha = Thangha
Sri = Thiri
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner
trusted partner