5 Tips for Celebrating Thingyan Water Festival in Myanmar

The original post was published here.

Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Festival that stretches four to five days around mid-April. This is Myanmar's biggest annual water fight! Here's what you need to know before you go get drenched.

If you love water fights, then you don’t want to miss the Thingyan festival in Myanmar. Also known as Songkran festival in Thailand, the Buddhist holiday is the Burmese New Year festival that usually falls around mid-April and is celebrated over a period of four to five days.

In Yangon, the party is as big as the capital city itself. Expect high-powered water jets, children armed with water guns and pick-up trucks jam-packed with people dancing to the heavy techno blasting on the streets.

Behind the playfulness, the practice of playing with water is rooted in the ancient Hindu belief that diving in water cleanses the soul spiritually. People pour water on each other to wash away the bad deeds of the previous year, and to start the new year with clean karma.

This is why after soaking you down, the locals welcome you to do the same to them – with a big grin, no less.

Read more here