lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

Top Event s

Water Festival (Thingyan),

mid-April

Taungbyone Nat Pwe Festival,

August or early September

Independence Day, 4 January

Tazaungmon, October

or November

Ananda Pahto Festival,

January

Nearly every active paya

(Buddhist temple) or ky-

aung (Buddhist monastery)

community hosts occasional

celebrations of their own,

often called paya pwe or

‘pagoda festivals’. Many

occur on full-moon days

and nights from January to

March, following the main

rice harvest, but the build-

up can last for a while. All

such festivals follow the

12-month lunar calendar

(p 368 ) and so their celebra-

tion can shift between two

months from year to year.

Ja nuar y

Peak season and, if

Chinese New Year falls

within the month, even

busier with local tourists

and those from the

region. Plan well ahead to

secure transport tickets

and hotels of choice.

Note New Year’s Day is

not a public holiday in

Myanmar.

z

Independence

Day

Celebrating the end of

colonial rule in Burma,

this major public holiday

on 4 January is marked by

nationwide fairs, including

a week-long one at Kandaw-

gyi Lake (p 48 ) in Yangon.

z

Manao Festival

Costumed dancing,

copious drinking of rice

beer and 29 cows or buff alo

sacrifi ced to propitiate nats

(traditional spirits) are part

of this Kachin State Day

event, held in Myitkyina on

10 January (p 236 )

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Ananda Pahto

Festival

Stretching over a couple

of weeks in January (but

sometimes in December,

depending on the Myanmar

lunar calendar) this is one

of the biggest religious festi-

vals in Bagan (p 158 ).

Febr ua r y

Still a busy travel

season, with the weather

beginning to get warmer.

If Chinese New Year

happens to fall in this

month, watch out for a

boost in travel activity.

z

Shwedagon

Festival

The lunar month of

Tabaung ( which can also fall

in March) signals the start

of the Shwedagon Festival

(p 51 ), the largest paya pwe

in Myanmar.

April

While joining in the water

frolics of Thingyan can

be fun, note that it’s

steaming hot in Myanmar

during this month. Also,

with many locals off work

and on the move during

the New Year celebrations,

securing transport,

booking hotels and even

finding a restaurant open

for a meal can be tricky –

plan well ahead!

z

Buddha’s

Birthday

The full-moon day of Kason

(falling in April or May)

is celebrated as Buddha’s

birthday, the day of his en-

lightenment and the day he

entered nibbana (nirvana).

Watering ceremonies are

conducted at banyan trees

within temple and monas-

tery grounds.

z

Water Festival

( Thingyan)

Lasting from three days to a

week, depending on wheth-

er the holiday falls over a

weekend, this celebration

Month

by

Month

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