This is a day for Lao families to gather together and perform takbat the offering of food to monks. Many will hold a basi ceremony to welcome in the new year and receive blessings. Younger members of the family will pour a silver bowl of perfumed water over their parents and elders hands to ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoings. Since Pi Mai is about letting go of the past year, many Lao people will purchase a small imprisoned animal in order to set it free.
This symbolises releasing yourself from any bad luck or anything that may be holding you back. The animals are usually small birds, fish or turtles. Nang Songkhan is not only selected for her Lao beauty but also her knowledge of Lao culture and her exemplary behaviour.
Miss New Year represents one of the seven daughters of Phanya Kabilaphom, an ancient character. Each daughter is resplendent with her own animal and symbolic items.
This daughter represents the day of Saturday and rides a peacock. If you would like tips on surviving Pi Mai read further details here. Your email address will not be published. It falls on either April 13th or April 14th. In recent years, the official festival dates are fixed during three days from 14 to 16 April, although celebrations can last more than a week in towns such as Luang Prabang. The Lao new year is marked by the sun entering the sign of Aries the Ram.
This particular event was traditionally closely related to the Vernal Equinox. In ancient times, the dates of the sun entering Aries and the Vernal Equinox would have been even closer, but they have shifted due to an effect called procession, where the Earth wobbles on its axis over a 25, year period. New Year celebrations in Lao last for three days, though the traditions and customs are similar to Songkran, Thai New Year.
This is the most important festival of the year in Laos. Tourists in any part of Lao on these days can take part in the annual celebrations. The first day of celebration is the last day of the old year. Perfume, water and flowers are prepared for the Lao New Year. In temples all over the country, Buddha images are taken down from their permanent places and placed on special temporary easy-to-access places within the Wat temple compounds so villagers can pour perfumed water on them. They then collect the water that runs off the Buddha images and take it home to pour on family members, friends and relatives.
This is believed to bless, clean and purify the receivers before entering the Lao New Year. The second day of the Lao New Year festival is the "day of no day", a day that falls in neither the old year nor the new year. Houses and villages are properly cleaned on the second day.
They encourage young people to clean their places and go out to pour water on other elders in the village and wish them well, and finally have fun and get wet themselves. This is a way to clean and send bad things away with the old year. The last day of the festival marks the start of the new year. This day many families will hold a Baci ceremony at their houses to welcome Lao New Year as well as to wish their elders good health and long life. Some might respectfully ask for forgiveness from their elders for things that they did in the past year that might have hurt their feelings unintentionally.
And at the same time they give the elders gifts. In late afternoon or evening of the last day, in the temples, the Buddha images are moved back to their permanent homes. On that same evening devotees go to the temples to listen to the monks chanting as an act to ask for forgiveness from the monks as well as from the Buddha images for what they did pouring water on them in this past few days that might have accidentally touched them monks and Buddha are not to be touched.
After that, a Vien Tien, a candlelight procession, takes place around the temples and that is the end of the Lao New Year celebration. Long, long ago, there was a rich man who married a very kind and beautiful woman in a small town in a far away land.
Although they had been husband and wife for about four years, his wife did not bear him a child. Tham-Ma-Barn could answer any question when asked. He was clever and knowledgeable. Tham-Ma-Barn was a great teacher and conducted many ceremonies for the people. If you cannot answer them, I will cut off your head as sacrifice to the teaching of Buddha.
On the other hand, if you can answer all three questions, I will cut off my head out of my respect for your knowledge. Tham-Ma-Barn agreed on the suggestion and the three questions given to him were; One, where is the virtue of a person in the morning?
Two, where is the virtue of a person at noon? Three, where is the virtue of a person in the evening? Day one, day two, day three, day four, and day five went by quickly and Tham-Ma-barn did not find answer to even one question of Ca-Bin-Ra-Pom. When six days arrived, Tham-Ma-Barn still could not find the answers. He was so tired of thinking and searching for the right answers.
He was so exhausted that when he came upon a big tree in the forest, he took a rest at its foot. As he closed his eyes, he heard two excited voices from afar above branch of the tree.
The husband eagles told his wife that Tham-Ma-Barn would lose the bet for sure, because the questions were very had and no one on this world knew the answer except the questioner and him. The wife eagle was curious to know the answers to the questions and she begged her husband to tell her.
Without any hesitation, the husband explained the answers to his wife and Tham-Ma-Barn now knew the answers and went home happily. Ca-Bin-Ra-Pom was very surprised that Tham-Ma-Barn answered all the questions correctly, but he gracefully acknowledged his defeat by agreeing to cut of his own head, as he had promised. Therefore, before cutting off his head, he asked his seven daughters to gather around to receive his instruction.
Each year, one of you has to take turns to parade my head around the earth axis and bathe it with holy and perfumed water to show your respect, loyalty, and thankfulness to your father in order to give rain and prosperity to the earth. You may find this legend similar as the one in Thailand , Cambodia , and Myanmar. Water is used for washing homes, Buddha images, monks, and soaking friends and passers-by.
When the King foretold of his upcoming death by decapitation, he ordered each of daughters to take turns riding an animal to the mountain, in order to sprinkle his head with scented water. Each year Nang Songkhan is resplendent with her own representative animal and symbolic items. This daughter represents the day of Saturday and rides a peacock. During Lao New Year, traditional Lao music, as well as modern Lao and Thai pop songs are accompanied by dancing, with traditional Lao dances of the lamvong and molam being popular.
With many events being held right around the city, the festivities in Luang Prabang last around seven days. From an elaborate almsgiving ceremony travelling all the way up Phousi Mountain, to lantern parades, traditional Phalak Phalam dancing, and the revealing of the revered Phabang, after which the city is named, check the Tourism Luang Prabang website for a full schedule of events.
In addition to the Luang Prabang Night Market , a colourful market fair pops up at That Luang Field that also features traditional Lao cultural performances. Head to Pak Khan beach at the junction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers to see locals build giant sand stupas , decorated with flowers and garlands.
Most water battles will occur close to temple entrances, as this is where people will be moving about. There is usually a traffic jam here with water-laden pickup trucks at a standstill. And that means motorbikes, cyclists and unsuspecting tourists are therefore fair game while they are waiting to move on! As early evening approaches, head to one of the many music-water-festivals around town, sponsored by major beer companies.
Head to the Mekong riverfront for the epic Beerlao Music Zone Water Fest for live music, beer, and — you guessed it — more water! Massive water hoses and sprinkler set ups soak you once again as the sun goes down. Remembering that this is a religious festival, be aware of Lao temple etiquette by dressing conservatively with shoulders and knees covered and removing your shoes before entering the wat. The official Pi Mai festivals lasts for three days from 14 to 16 April each year, however celebrations can last much longer, particularly in Luang Prabang.
Lao New Year is a public holiday in Laos, with government offices, shops and most facilities closed during those three days.
Lao New Year falls around the 13 th or 14 th of April each year due to the movement of the sun and Earth. This is based on the traditional solar new year that has been observed for millennia in Asia and parts of India. The Lao New Year is defined by the sun transiting into the sign of Aries the Ram, an event traditionally associated with the Vernal Equinox. It also marks the beginning of the monsoon rain season in Laos. Pi Mai literally translates as New Year, where pi means year and mai means new.
To wish someone a Happy New Year in Laos, the expressions sok di pi mai or sabaidee pi mai are usually used. Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Foreigners are not excused from the fun—if you're in Laos during the holiday, expect to be soaked by passing teenagers, using buckets of water, hoses, or high-pressure water guns. Locals sometimes throw flour as well as water, so you may feel both wet and doughy at the end of the holiday. While Bun Pi Mai is celebrated throughout Laos, tourists in the capital of Vientiane or the city of Luang Prabang see the holiday at its most intense.
In Vientiane , families make the rounds of the different temples to bathe the Buddha statues, with Wat Phra Kaew , the city's oldest temple, being the most popular.
Here, the festivities can last seven days, held in different places around the city. Colorfully-garbed elephants guided by mahouts professional elephant rider in full costume kick off the first day of the New Year festivities, winding its way from Wat Mai to Wat Xiengthong.
Also on the first day, there is the Hae Vor procession. Traditions for Nang Sangkhan come from the myth of Phaya Kabinlaphom, a four-faced demigod who foresaw his demise by decapitation—he decreed that his seven daughters would take turns riding an animal to the cave where his head would be kept and sprinkled with fragrant water.
At the Hat Muang Khoun sandbar located in Chomphet District across the river from Luang Prabang , locals build sand stupas called toppathatsay and decorate them with flowers and hand-painted flags while sprinkling river water on each other. Locals believe these sand stupas prevent evil spirits from passing over from the previous year into the new one. During the celebration, it's bathed under a temporary pavilion through sluice pipes carved into the shape of legendary water serpents.
Ceremonial waters are first poured by personifications of the Lao ancestors, two red-faced toothy heads called Grandfather and Grandmother Nyeu, and a lion-faced mascot named Sing Kaew Sing Kham.
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