People celebrate during the water festival in Yangon, Myanmar, April 14, 2017. Myanmar's traditional Thingyan Water Festival kicked off across the country Thursday morning with opening ceremonies held in regions and states. (Xinhua/U Aung)
By Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's traditional water festival entered into its second day Friday with people across the nation joyfully celebrating the event.
The enthusiastic throwing of water during the festival symbolizes the washing away of the previous year's sins and the anticipation of starting a new year with a clean slate.
With dance troupes performing up and down the nation Myanmar's traditional Thingyan Water Festival began in earnest across the country with opening ceremonies starting Thursday morning, the first day of the water festival.
In the capital of Nay Pyi Taw, the ceremony was graced by Vice President U Henry Van Thio and officially commenced by Mayor Dr. Myo Aung. The ceremony's launch this year in the capital was covered by Myanmar Radio and TV and featured modern music bands and various dance troupes.
In Mandalay, the second-largest city, the celebration started as early as at 5 a.m. local time with the offering of meals to 108 Buddhist monks at the Mandalay City Mayor's Pandal, in the south of Mandalay moat.
Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung asked in his new year welcoming speech for a return to more innocent times.
"During the occasion of the hottest spring, the water festival is the Myanmar tradition that aims to keep each other cool with love through water. Other activities entering into the water festival have seen the people's love decay as they have been influenced by a decadent culture," Maung said.
In Yangon, the Yangon City Pandal in front of the City Hall was opened by the region's Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein.
Extending Thingyan new year greeting, U Phyo Min Thein called on locals to celebrate the festival in a more traditional way.
In Myawaddy, a border town in Kayin state which lies opposite to Thailand, the central water throwing pandal was unveiled by the Speaker of the House of Nationalities (Upper House) Mann Win Khaing Than, with the Governor of Thailand's Tak Province attending as a guest.
Moreover, the water festival was celebrated by families and members of the Defense Services with a pandal erected at Nay Pyi Taw's golf course. Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services, Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, joined in with pouring water on dancers.
Guests were served with charitable feasts and entertained with performances by artists from the military's Myawaddy Music Band.
Roads and streets were packed everywhere with people dancing to music and dousing each other with water.
There are altogether 22 large, 10 medium, and 27 small water throwing pandals erected in the commercial city of Yangon.
A special Rakhine ethnic traditional water festival was also held in Yangon, in which young men and women stand face to face and drench each other with water while standing in long boats.
On Wednesday, one day ahead of the commencement of the water festival, ethnic Rakhine held a traditional sandalwood grinding competition in Yangon. Rakhine women ground sandalwood mixed with water on a flat stone to make scented water, to be used to wash Buddha statues on the first day of the festival.
This year's Myanmar traditional Thingyan water festival will run for four days until Sunday. The Myanmar new year falls on Monday.
In Myanmar, water is a symbol of not only cleanliness but also auspiciousness. Myanmar people believe that celebrating the water festival can wash away past evil and sin and prepare for a happy year ahead.
Among Myanmar's 12 seasonal festivals throughout the year, the Thingyan water festival represents the grandest and brings peace and prosperity to everyone.
