Happy Myanmar New Year' to you all my beloved friends….!
This is the first time I start writing the blog and significantly it is on the Myanmar New Year Day for Myanmar Era 1376…!!!
Although it is normally very hot, April is my most favorite month of a year as we have the longest holiday (officially 10 days) of the year to celebrate the Myanmar New Year period. The whole country is occupied with the excitement of welcoming the New Year and is busy with the enjoying the most enjoyable holidays of a year.
During long holidays, people are normally busy with plans; some go back to native towns, some take trips, some relax at home. Some more religious people (not like me) go to meditation centers, some(men) enter into the Buddhist Monkhood for a number of days, providing offertories to the elders from the neighborhood and enjoy making Myanmar traditional food and share among one's neighborhood.
However, no other activity is more significant than enjoying the Thingyan Water Festival during the holiday period. According to Myanmar calendar, a lunar based system, which is much similar with some other South East Asia Nations such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, there are normally four-day period, five-day at every three years, which we call it "Thingyan Period". The word "Thingyan" is originated from Sanskrit, meaning "transforming" from one stage to another. We play throwing water at each other for those (four/five) days. The intention of throwing the water on people is to wash the bad things of the older year and to welcome the New Year to come with clean, peaceful and energetic inspiration. Many believe that throwing water is the gesture of blessings and good wishes to others. The Water festival has many different names around our neighboring countries; Songkran in Laos and Thailand, Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia.
Almost everybody enjoys the Water Festival; significantly it is the happiest time for kids and teenagers. No school, no homework, and no readings, and just enjoy the festival. In the cities and large part of urban areas, people build make-shift wooden platforms, called "man-dat" by Myanmar language, or pandal , affixed with music facilities some even with the live bands, some put traditional music band, while other put all rock music bands, dancing floors, lightings, and most important of all, the water pipes to enjoy the festival. Some "man-dat" are as big as it can accommodate 300 people.
While those are busy with throwing water, some others are also busy with driving around the city to enjoy the water throwing. In the biggest City like Yangon, thousands of cars of various sizes, packed with people are driving around the city to enjoy the water throwing.
Actually, building "man-dat" is not cheap. No doubt that such an event is the prime time for big companies to throw their products commercial, through sponsoring to various "man-dat". Lately, the festival becomes commercialized by the various fast-moving-consumer-goods businesses like beer, beverages, some consumer goods, together with telecommunication companies and airlines.
The immediate next day of the Thingyan Water Festival is Myanmar New Year day. The New Year day could be said that "the day of doing meritorious deeds". On the day, young people pay respect to the elders, grandparents, providing offertories to the elders from the neighborhood. In some areas, even around my neighborhood, people set up the make-shift shelters and provide the various kind of food to everybody; we call it "Satuditha". People of rich and poor, can enjoy food as much as they can at those shelters. Some people release the fishes into the rivers or natural ponds, while some others let free the caged-birds, as a part of meritorious deed at the New Year day. While they are releasing the fishes or birds, they call for a prayer and wish "I release you once, I will be released for ten times". Isn't it too greedy..???
The intention of doing those meritorious deeds at the New Year day is aimed to start a new year with good actions. It means that we want to clean our souls of the past year and have a new fresh start for New Year with clean, enriched and energetic mind.
The meaning of Thingyan Festival is not completed without mentioning the flower named, "Padauk- Gum-kino Tree(Pterocarpus macrocarpus)". Padauk is tiny fragrant yellowish-gold colored flowers. It is well-known for its loyalty to New Year and all Padauk trees bloom at the same day. Padauk requires the first rain shower to burst forth into bloom and the first light shower of April usually herald the Thingyan Festival and bring the Padauk to bloom in all its beauties.
I am so excited to see the Padauk flowers from the tree in my compound blooming when I wake uptomorrow morning…
This is the first time I start writing the blog and significantly it is on the Myanmar New Year Day for Myanmar Era 1376…!!!
Although it is normally very hot, April is my most favorite month of a year as we have the longest holiday (officially 10 days) of the year to celebrate the Myanmar New Year period. The whole country is occupied with the excitement of welcoming the New Year and is busy with the enjoying the most enjoyable holidays of a year.
During long holidays, people are normally busy with plans; some go back to native towns, some take trips, some relax at home. Some more religious people (not like me) go to meditation centers, some(men) enter into the Buddhist Monkhood for a number of days, providing offertories to the elders from the neighborhood and enjoy making Myanmar traditional food and share among one's neighborhood.
However, no other activity is more significant than enjoying the Thingyan Water Festival during the holiday period. According to Myanmar calendar, a lunar based system, which is much similar with some other South East Asia Nations such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, there are normally four-day period, five-day at every three years, which we call it "Thingyan Period". The word "Thingyan" is originated from Sanskrit, meaning "transforming" from one stage to another. We play throwing water at each other for those (four/five) days. The intention of throwing the water on people is to wash the bad things of the older year and to welcome the New Year to come with clean, peaceful and energetic inspiration. Many believe that throwing water is the gesture of blessings and good wishes to others. The Water festival has many different names around our neighboring countries; Songkran in Laos and Thailand, Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia.
Almost everybody enjoys the Water Festival; significantly it is the happiest time for kids and teenagers. No school, no homework, and no readings, and just enjoy the festival. In the cities and large part of urban areas, people build make-shift wooden platforms, called "man-dat" by Myanmar language, or pandal , affixed with music facilities some even with the live bands, some put traditional music band, while other put all rock music bands, dancing floors, lightings, and most important of all, the water pipes to enjoy the festival. Some "man-dat" are as big as it can accommodate 300 people.
While those are busy with throwing water, some others are also busy with driving around the city to enjoy the water throwing. In the biggest City like Yangon, thousands of cars of various sizes, packed with people are driving around the city to enjoy the water throwing.
Actually, building "man-dat" is not cheap. No doubt that such an event is the prime time for big companies to throw their products commercial, through sponsoring to various "man-dat". Lately, the festival becomes commercialized by the various fast-moving-consumer-goods businesses like beer, beverages, some consumer goods, together with telecommunication companies and airlines.
The immediate next day of the Thingyan Water Festival is Myanmar New Year day. The New Year day could be said that "the day of doing meritorious deeds". On the day, young people pay respect to the elders, grandparents, providing offertories to the elders from the neighborhood. In some areas, even around my neighborhood, people set up the make-shift shelters and provide the various kind of food to everybody; we call it "Satuditha". People of rich and poor, can enjoy food as much as they can at those shelters. Some people release the fishes into the rivers or natural ponds, while some others let free the caged-birds, as a part of meritorious deed at the New Year day. While they are releasing the fishes or birds, they call for a prayer and wish "I release you once, I will be released for ten times". Isn't it too greedy..???
The intention of doing those meritorious deeds at the New Year day is aimed to start a new year with good actions. It means that we want to clean our souls of the past year and have a new fresh start for New Year with clean, enriched and energetic mind.
The meaning of Thingyan Festival is not completed without mentioning the flower named, "Padauk- Gum-kino Tree(Pterocarpus macrocarpus)". Padauk is tiny fragrant yellowish-gold colored flowers. It is well-known for its loyalty to New Year and all Padauk trees bloom at the same day. Padauk requires the first rain shower to burst forth into bloom and the first light shower of April usually herald the Thingyan Festival and bring the Padauk to bloom in all its beauties.
I am so excited to see the Padauk flowers from the tree in my compound blooming when I wake uptomorrow morning…
