Vibrant celebrations are sweeping across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand – countries bordering the magnificent Mekong River – as millions gather to usher in the New Year.
For the next few days, the Buddhist New Year – Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia, Pi Mai in Laos, Thingyan in Myanmar and Songkran in Thailand – will add joy to the region still grappling with a severe fuel crisis.
Unperturbed by the blistering 40°C heat, costly fuel, inflationary pressure or the global geopolitical noise, revellers are welcoming the most important festival on the calendar.
In Cambodia, there was a mass exodus of city folks since last Friday, all heading to their provinces to celebrate the occasion in a family-style tradition.
“The Khmer New Year gives them the opportunity to return to their hometowns to be with their families.
“It is a time for family reunions, visiting elders, going to the pagoda, paying respect to ancestors and performing meritorious deeds in accordance with Buddhist tradition,” Phnom Penh-based Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University’s Head of Research for Postgraduate Studies Venerable Dr San Pisith said.
Splashing water, a cleansing element in Buddhist culture, has been a symbolic highlight during the festival across the region.
In Myanmar, however, Thingyan – the traditional water festival – is being marked in a subdued atmosphere.
The appointment of former military leader Min Aung Hlaing as president on April 3 has tempered the mood.
At the same time, ongoing fuel shortages and rising costs continue to weigh heavily on daily life.
According to state media, water splashing and charity pavilions have been set up in Yangon for the celebration.
In neighbouring Thailand, people are celebrating Songkran under the new Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s leadership, while facing fuel price challenges.
Even in Laos, home to about seven million people, astronomical fuel prices impacted every household.
But Pi Mai festivities continue in the capital, Vientiane and rural provinces.
Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith in his New Year message urged the nation to unite to overcome economic challenges.
“Laos had maintained political stability, preserved social order and recorded positive economic recovery and growth,” he said, according to Vientiane Times. — Bernama
