I'm half a day ahead of you so if it's news to you, it is history to me.
Dateline: Thingyan Festival Yangon, Myanmar April 2009
The major holiday in Myanmar is the Thingyan Festival which is a Buddhist event and is the
official New Year for the country. Different ethnic groups celebrate New Years on various days through the year. Most are based on a lunar calendar. The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon has been under repair and gilding for several months and the final scaffolding of woven bamboo has been removed to reveal a dazzling stupa.Thingyan is also based on the lunisolar calendar. Frequently it coincides with Easter but not always. The holiday lasts from April 11-21 this year. All government offices and most private companies close for those dates. School is already out for the summer.
A big part of the festival is now called the Water Festival. Originally a part of the Buddhist celebration was the washing away of the old. People carried a small bowl of water and a twig with leaves. They would sprinkle a little water on people to symbolically wash away the old year and the old life. Today it has degenerated into a nation wide water fight that lasts for three days. This same water festival occurs throughout South East Asia to some degree.
Going outside for the three days guarantees getting soaked. Instead of people sprinkling water,
they throw it by the bucket full. Trucks and open jeeps filled with people drive around with barrels of water and the passengers throw water on pedestrians, police directing traffic, passing cars and everyone they see. This is the hottest time of the year and getting wet is the way a nation cools off.
The real soaking doesn’t come from the people in vehicles. Mandats (stages) are built where there is a good source of water and people pay to stand on the platforms and spray passers with hoses.Sources of water are either access to a large pipe from the city water system or pumps placed in lakes. Hotels are a popular place for a Mandat because they have the water system and they have kitchens and staff to prepare and sell the traditional Thingyan food and beer.
The joy is not just spraying or throwing water on people, it is just as important to get wet. People
fill the open trucks and jeeps and cars with the windows down and drive around to get wet. Traffic is slow wherever there is a Mandat. Along the large lakes where there are Mandats lined up for blocks, the traffic comes to a standstill.
All government offices and most businesses closed during the 11 day festival. People travel to visit relatives or for vacation. Busses and trains don’t run because the drivers are on vacation. The airlines add flights because of the extra travel, including tourists who come for the festival. We didn’t open the office for the three days of the water fight because it was impossible to get to work without getting soaked. Most of our projects required a minimum staff to continue and the Christians who wanted extra time at Christmas worked. The Buddhists who want time during Thingyan worked during Christmas. Fortunately as boss, nobody can make me stay away when I want to go to work.
I know you are wondering how I managed to maintain my dignity amid all the foolishness.
Now the old year has been washed away and things are back to normal. Check your calendar and plan to be here next year. Doug
