Thingyan Day 1-3: New Year Water Festival in Myanmar

Hsu Myat, Student Ambassador in Myanmar, runs the Speak Up! Public Speaking Club.

April 13 – 15: Welcoming, Descent, and Peak Celebration

            Every April, Myanmar bursts into celebration with Thingyan — our traditional New Year water festival. The word “Thingyan” comes from Sanskrit, meaning “change” or “transition,” symbolizing the shift from the old year to the new. It’s more than just a festival; it’s a cleansing journey — washing away the past and welcoming a fresh new start.

            Thingyan usually lasts around five days, from April 13 to 17 (although in some years it extends to six). It begins with April 13, known as “အကြို” (akyo), or the welcoming day. This is when preparations come to life. People decorate with flowers and set up “အတာအိုး” (Atar pots), which are adorned with blooms of all kinds to welcome the new year. It also marks the start of religious activities, as Thingyan is not only about celebrations, but also about Buddhist practices. Across cities, “မဏ္ဍပ်” (mandats, or stages) are built, and groups rehearse synchronized Thingyan dances in final preparation for the days ahead.
This year, I joined in by offering flowers myself and going gift shopping with my family for my grandparents, preparing for the homage-paying we would do for the new year.

            Among all the blooms, however, one flower stands out during this season: the “ပိတောက်” (padauk). Blooming right in time for Thingyan, it has become a symbol of the festival. You’ll see it everywhere — in decorations, posters, gifts, and even in songs and poems. When people think of Thingyan, the padauk flower is always in the back of their minds.

            The main festivities begin on April 14, “အကျနေ့” (akya), or the day of descent, and continue through April 15 (“အကြတ်နေ့” akyat). These are the peak water festival days. Roads are closed for “walking Thingyan”, where people move through streets lined with mandats of all sizes, joining in the celebrations. Water is everywhere — splashed using buckets, garden hoses, water guns, and sometimes even fire trucks. Trucks filled with people carrying buckets of ice water drive through the streets, splashing and getting splashed in return.
I spent the 14th going around mandats in my neighborhood, getting completely soaked while everyone around me was having the time of their lives.

            Thingyan has been celebrated for over a thousand years, dating back to the time of the Bagan kings. While it’s incredibly fun, it also holds deep meaning. The water symbolizes cleansing — washing away bad luck and negativity from the old year, and welcoming peace and prosperity for the new one. So, when someone pours a bucket of ice-cold water on you under the intense April heat (the hottest time of the year in Myanmar), the shock hits first, and then it’s actually a blessing in disguise.

April 15, “အကြတ်နေ့” (akyat), is when the celebrations reach their peak. Sometimes there are even two akyat days, depending on the Myanmar calendar. Mandats host performances of synchronized Thingyan dances, parades fill the streets, and crowds gather everywhere. No one — and nowhere — is safe from getting soaked; when I went into the downtown area, I couldn’t even be outside for two minutes before getting drenched.

            Generosity is also a key part of Thingyan. “စတုဒိသာ” (Satuditha) refers to community feasts where people offer free food to others. These can include dishes like mohinga, coconut noodles (ohn no khauk swe), and traditional desserts such as shwe yin aye and mont let saung. One of the most iconic Thingyan snacks is “မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်” (mote lone yay baw) — glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar, boiled and served fresh as they float to the surface.
Back home, my family and I made them together, and I was practically eating them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

This article was written with the assistance of GenAI tools.