11/04/2022
It's Happy New Year Festive now, all over South East Asia!
In Thailand, we say "Sawasdee Pi Mai Kha/khrap" 🙏🏼🙂
Happy New Year & Water Festival Theravāda Buddhism in April 2022!🧡 🇱🇰 🇲🇲 🇹🇭 🇰🇭 🇱🇦 🇲🇾 🇻🇳 🇮🇳 🇨🇳
"Happy Aluth Avurudda" Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
Reference:
http://www.worldgenweb.org/lkawgw/aluthavurudda.htm
https://tdi.ge/en/page/aluth-avurudda
Sinhala Aluth Avurudda cannot be classified as a religious festival. However customs and rituals associated with Aluth Avurudda have been fashioned according to Buddhist beliefs. April is the month of the traditional Sinhalese New Year for not only Sinhalese people, but for most Sri Lankans. New Year is usually celebrated on 13th or 14th April and traditionally begins after the sun moves from the house of Pisces to the house of Aries, at the appearance of the new moon. This marks the end of the harvest season and the Spring.
"Happy Thingyan" Myanmar 🇲🇲
Reference: Journal of Burma Studies, Volume 12
During Thingyan, which is also called the Burmese Water Festival, people celebrate the Buddhist New Year in a festive fash-ion by sprinkling, or throwing, water on each other to wash away any bad fortune of the past year and “transit” (thingyan in Burmese) to the new year. This celebration is not exclusive to Burma. In fact, the Water Festival is held throughout other Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, as well as by their respective overseas communities. The Burmese version of the festival is based on the myth of Thagyamin, who was originally a Hindu deity recognized as the king of all Burmese local spirits and subsequently incorporated into Burmanized Buddhism. For devout Burmese Buddhists, a common social practice during the Thingyan holiday (which usually lasts three days) is to engage in the Bouda pugjaniya (“Buddha-worship”) ceremony held in a Mon-astery.
"Happy Songkran" Thailand / Orang Siam, Malaysia 🇹🇭🇲🇾
Reference: Ministry of Culture
Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year festival since the former time. It is a celebration that embraces goodwill, love, compassion,and thankfulness, using water as the means of expression. The word "Songkran" is from Sanskrit, meaning the beginning of a new solar year. In the traditional Thai calendar, this falls in April, when the sun enters Aries. Thus, the Songkran Festival is held to mark the beginning of a new solar year.
"Happy Choul Chnam Thmey" Cambodia / Khmer Krom, Vietnam 🇰🇭🇻🇳
Reference: livingasean.com
Cambodian New Year or Choul Chnam Thmey falls on April 13 through 16. The annual event is celebrated with a multitude of joyful festivities and merit making ceremonies in Buddhism. People often confuse Choul Chnam Thmey with the Cambodian Water Festival, which is an entirely different event. The Water Festival, known as Bon Om Touk, is celebrated with row boat racing in the capital Phnom Penh usually in October or November each year.
"Happy Pi Mai or Sangkhan Khun" Laos 🇱🇦
Reference: Maha Bounhouane Douangpangna. Lao New Year History; Maha Bounthanh Souphanthavong. Lao New Year History; Kheua Yath Association. Lao New Year History
Pi Mai or Songkran( Lao New Year), This festive occasion is held each year from April 13 to 15. In Laos, this is the hottest month of the year and the rainy season is just around the corner. It is the time when people ask for and give each other forgiveness and receive wishes. Lao new years is considered a national holiday in Laos. Government offices are closed for three days to observe the Lao New Year.
"Happy Sangken" Tai-Khamti / Tai-Phake / Tai-Ahom / Tai-Khamyang / Tai-Turung / Tai-Aiton / Tai-Lai, India 🇮🇳
Reference: Arunachal Observer
This festival is celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam as the traditional New Year’s Day during April 14 to 16 by Theravada Buddhist Communities. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars. Though Tai-Khamti mostly celebrate the festival, but Singpho, Tai Khamyang, Tangsa tribes of Arunachal and Tai Phake,Tai Aiton and Tai Turung communities of Assam also celebrate it.
"Happy Sangkan" Tai-Lue 🇨🇳
Reference: International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 10 • No. 7 • July 2020
For the Dai or Tai-Lue, the De’ang and the Achang nationalities in Yunnan, China, the Water-Splashing Festival is their traditional festival. It is called “Len He Sang Kan” in Dai language, meaning “the New Year’s Day in June”. The festival is usually celebrated in late June or early July on the Dai calendar (mid April of the Gregorian calendar), and is the New Year’s Day on the Dai calendar, which is also as important as the Christmas celebration to people in the West. The festival lasts for three days. The main activities include dragon-boat racing, fireworks setting off, water splashing, fair going and cloth-bundle throwing.
