Thingyan is a festive occasion for all Burmese. Falling in the mid-April, after the hot and dry season, the Burmese New Year is a time of joyous celebration. The farmers will know the rain will come and they can plant their seeds, while the students know this is the time for a break from school.
Youths will dress up in their best during Thingyan and they will tour the city or country, in search of a stage or house who will splash water at them. They welcome this attention, knowing that the Thingyan water can cleanse them of the past year's bad luck and refresh them for the coming new year. Meanwhile, the elders will donate puja to the monks and nuns, as they meditate and smile in the knowledge that their children are having fun.
Thingyan is the time to meet new people and be fashionable. For a conservative culture like Burmese, this release from everyday mundane life is greatly appreciated. Special snacks like mote lone yay por or shwe yin aye can be eaten. Sharing is central in Thingyan. Strangers share snacks and jokes with one another. All inhibitions are broken away.
Thingyan is a whole day affair for 4 to 5 days of the year annually. In the day, there are "stage-shows" or concerts of pop and rock and roll music. At night, there are traditional dances performed by the young girls or ladies from schools or companies. There used to be floats driving around the cities. This tradition has disappeared however. The last day is the real New Year Day, for the first few days are celebrations to the welcoming of the New Year Day. On New Year Day, religious affairs are usually done. The Burmese believe that the Tha-gyarr Minn, a nat or spirit, watches over them, and on New Year's Day, he returns to heaven to report of their good deeds and bad deeds. Therefore, they always warn "Be good before the Tha gyarr Minn returns to heaven". Have you been good?
