SatJaDham Presents: The Holidays and Festivals of Laos SatJaDham is very proud to announce the presentation of the Holidays and Festivals(boon) in Laos. The people of or from Laos celebrate our festivals in different ways and for different purposes. SatJaDham will post articles about each boon around the time of its occurrence. SO far our list includes the following festivals: 1- Boon Makabooxa (Full moon - Feb 3 (This year it's on Mar. 3)) 2- Lao New Year (April 13-15) 3- Boon Wisakhabooxa (Full moon - May 31) 4- Boon Prawed (Full moon - Jun 22) 5- Boon Kao Phansa ( Full moon - July 30) 6- Boon Kao Padab Dinh ( Dark moon - Sep 11) 7- Boon Kao Salaak (Full moon - Sep 26) 8- Boon Ork Phanhsa (Full moon - Oct 26) 9- Boon That Luang ( Full moon - Nov 24) 10-Hmong New Year (December (movable)) These are just some of festivals. The majority of Lao Population is Buddhist. The Lao Buddhist year follows the lunar calendar, so many of the festivals are movable. The first month begins around the full moon in December, although Lao New Year is celebrated in April. Besides the above-mentioned festivals, there are many local festivals celebrated in each region. The general Lao population have private Baci ceremony on many special occassions. The Baci ceremony is a uniquely lao boon and celebrates any auspicious occasion marriage, birth, and achievement. The ceremony dates from banana leaves and flowers and surrounded by symbolic foods. The mophane hosts the ceremony and recites memorized prayers, usually in Pali, and ties cotton strips (sai sin) around the wrists of guests symbolizing good health, prosperity and happiness. For maximum effect, these strings must have 3 knots in them. It is unlucky to take them off before 3 days have elapsed. All this is accompanied by a ramvong (a traditional circle dance) which is accompanied by traditional instruments - flutes, clarinets, xylophones with bamboo corsspieces, drums, cymbal and the kaen, a hand-held pipe oran that is to Laos what the bagpipes are to Scotland. To give you an idea of what you will be reading in the following months, we will give you the list of Lao holidays and its short description: Jan. New Year's Day (1st public holiday) celebrated by private baci throughout the country. Pathet Lao Day (6th public holiday) parades in main towns. Army Day (20th-public holiday). Boun Pha Vet (movable) to celbrate King Vessanthara's reincarnation as a Buddha. Sermons, processions, dance, theatre. Popular time for ordination. Feb. Magha Puja (movable) celebrates the end of Buddha's time in the monastery and the prediction of his death. It is primcipally celebrated in Vientiane and at Wat Phou, near Champassak. Chinese New Year (movable -Jan/Feb) celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Many chinese and Vietnamese businesses shut down for 3 days. Mar. Women's Day (8th-public holiday). People's party Day (22nd: public holiday). Boun Khoun Kao (movable) harvest festival, local celebration centred around the wats. Apr. Boun Pimai (movable - public holiday) to celebrate Lao New Year. The first month of the Lao New Year is actually December, but festivities are delayed unitl April when days are longer than nights. By April it's also heating up, so having hosepipes levelled at you and buckets of water dumpped on you is more pleasurable. The festival also serves to invite the rains. Pimai is one of the most important annual festivals, particularlyin Luang Prabang. Statues of the Buddha (in the 'calling for rain' prosture) are cermonially doused in water, which is poured along an intricately decorated trench (hang song nam pha). The small stupas of sand, decoradted with streamers, in wat, compounds are symbolic requests for health and happiness over the next year. It is celebrated with traditional Lao folksinging(morlam) and the circle dance (ramvong). There is usually a 3-day holiday. Similar festivals are celebrated in Thailand, Cambodia and Burma. May Labour Day (1st - public holiday) parades in Vietiane. Visakha Puja (movable) to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha, celebrated in local wats. Boun Bang Fai (movable) or the rocket festival, is a Buddhist rain-making festival. Large bamboo rockets are built and decorated by monks and carried in procession before being blasted skywards. The higher a rocket goes, the bigger its builder's ego gets. Designers of failed rockets are thrown in the mud. The festival last 2 days. Jun. Children's Day (1st - public holiday) Kao Phansa (movable) is the start of Buddhist Lent and is a time of retreat and fasting for monks. These are the most usual months for ordination and for men to enter the monkhood for short periods before they marry. The festival starts with the full moon in Jun/July and continues until the full moon in Oct when monks receive gifts. Aug Lao Isara(13th-public holiday), Free Lao Day. Liberation Day (23rd - public holiday). Ho Khao Padeph Dinh (movable) is a celebration of the dead. Sep Boun ok Phansa (movable) is the end of Buddhist Lent and the faithful take offerings to the temple. It is in the '9th month' in Luang Praband and the '11th month' in Vientiane, and marks the end of the rainy season. Boat races take place on the Mekong River with crews of 50 or more men and women. On the night before the race small rafts are set afloat on the river. Oct. Freedom from the French Day (12th-public holidays) which is only really celebrated in Vientiane. Nov. Boon ThatLuang - this is most famous for its celebration at the statutory ThatLuang in Vientiane. Dec Hmong New Year (movable). Independence Day (2nd- public holiday), military parades, dancing, music. Note: This list is not exhaustive, but does include the most important festivals. There are many Chinese, Vietnamese and ethnic minority festivals which are celebrated in Laos and there are many regional variations. (Most of the description of holidays are taken from the Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodian Handbook - Edited by Joshua Eliot - 1996) Any comments are welcome on here(SCL) or laolit@tuddy.monash.edu.au. If you would like to know more about our group or to read our previous works, check out these homepages: http://www.monash.edu.au/pub/bane_lao/laoweb/sjdarc.htm http://www.santarosa.edu/~ksaycoci/ksatjadham.html http://www.monash.edu.au/pub/bane_lao/publishing/SatJaDham/