Merrymakers take part in the second day celebrations of the Myanmar New Year water festival Sunday, April 14, 2024, outside the city hall in Yangon, Myanmar. - AP Photo
YANGON (Xinhua): Myanmar's vibrant Thingyan water festival kicked off on Saturday, with celebrations taking place across the country despote ongoing issues with rebels and the junta at the border.
Traditional dance troupes in colorful dresses performed at the opening ceremonies of the festival.
In Yangon, the water festival was officially launched at the mayor's pavilion in front of the Yangon City Hall. Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein extended his best wishes to the people.
This year's water festival will continue until Tuesday (April 16), and the Myanmar New Year falls on April 17.
Alongside the main celebrations, various special events are featured, including walking Thingyan festivals in some towns and a floating water festival at Inle Lake in Shan state.
Merrymakers take part in the second day celebrations of the Myanmar New Year water festival Sunday, April 14, 2024, outside the city hall in Yangon, Myanmar. - AP Photo
The Thingyan water festival holds immense cultural significance in Myanmar, standing as the most famous celebration among the 12 monthly seasonal festivals observed throughout the year.
Similar to Songkran in Thailand and Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia, it is a time to welcome the traditional New Year, when people joyfully splash water on one another to wash sins and purify moral impurities from the old year.
But Myanmar is also going through several deep issues especially after the ruling junta has suffered many defeats at the hands of rebels.
In another development, hundreds of refugees crossed over the river frontier between Myanmar and Thailand on Friday following the fall of a strategic border town to rebels fighting Myanmar's military junta.
Some said they feared airstrikes by the Myanmar military after the rebel capture of Myawaddy, a town of around 200,000 people lying across the Moei River from the Thai city of Mae Sot. - Xinhua
