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Taung Pyone Nat Festival (Taung Pyone, Mandalay Division) :
Taung Pyone Nat or Spirit festival is a popular festival held in Warkhaung, the fifth month in Myanmar calendar during rainy season (July-August). Taung Pyone is one hour drive north of Mandalay. The homage-paying festival is now held annually to appease the spirits as it is believed that the Nats can fulfill wishes, protect from ill-fate and danger, bringing prosperity and success to the worshippers. The story of two Taung Pyone Nat brothers originated during the rule of Bagan King, Anawrahta. They were killed for the absence of their duty to contribute a brick for the construction of a pagoda. It lasts for five days with special programs on each day including spirits dances.
Elephant Dance Festival (Kyaukse, Mandalay Division) :
This festival is celebrated on the fullmoon day of Thadingyut and a yearly culture highlight of Kyaukse, 26 miles south of Mandalay. The life-size elephant are made of bamboo frames and paper. Two men get inside of the hollow elephant and moving like lively elephants, followed by some traditional musicians. The whole inhabitants compete, not only for the best elephant dance performance, but also for the most beautifully decorated elephant. The festival is crowded with people from surrounding villages of Kyaukse and also from Mandalay.
Shwe Zi Gon Pagoda Festival (Nyaung U, Bagan) :
Shwe Zi Gon pagoda festival is held in Tasaungmone, the eight month in Myanmar calendar during winter (October-November). The bell shaped cylinder Shwe Zi Gon pagoda can be regarded as Major attraction in Bagan. It was first built in AD 1075 by King Anawrahta and finished in AD 1090 by his son, King Kyansittha. The holy tooth relic and the collar-bone of Buddha which are brought from China and Sri Lanka respectively are enshrined in the pagoda. The festival held annually and lasts for 23 days. Like other pagoda festivals there are food stalls, shops selling local products, magic shows, puppet shows, theatrical shows, Zat pwe and Anyeints.
Tasaungdaing Festival (Nation-wide) :
Tasaungdaing festival is celebrated on and around fullmoon day of Tasaungmone all over the country and falls mainly into November. It is one of the religious festivals in Myanmar. During Tasaungdaing festival people celebrate the night with various kinds of lights. Homes, buildings and streets are illuminated. The main activity is offering yellow robes to Buddha images at the pagodas and monks at the monasteries. The offering ceremony is commonly called “Kathein”. A traditional discipline is that one monastery can only accept one “Kathein”.
A robe weaving ceremony is held on the eve of the fullmoon day at famous pagodas in the country such as the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the Mahar Muni Pagoda in Mandalay and the other important pagodas in many cities and towns. The competition is about weaving skills between teams of young women weavers to complete the robes within one night. At dawn the robes are offered to the images of Lord Buddha.
In addition people also offer cash, alms bowls, umbrellas, slippers, clocks, furniture, brooms and many others items. The offering items are hanging on wooden frames and groups of people carry them to the designated monasteries on their shoulder, followed by traditional dancers and musicians. A variety of cash notes are decently hanging around the monks’ umbrella, which is at the top of the wooden frames and some notes are beautifully decorated on the bamboo frame to animal shapes. This festival also shows the generosity of the people in Myanmar. Every family, school, offices and other organization do these offerings in every year. Buddhists believe that they can receive good and adequate clothing in their next life by offering robes to the sons of Buddha (monks).
Hot Air Balloon Festival (Taunggyi, Southern Shan State) :
Hot Air balloon festival is held on and around fullmoon day of Tasaungmone. It normally lasts for five days. The festival is well known for its hot air balloons, which are released day and night. At night time, visitors can see competition of hot air balloons with fireworks and fire crackers, competing over how beautiful the fireworks are and the altitude they reach. In day time, we can see competition of decorated hot air balloons in different shapes and forms of animals such as birds, Hinthas, fish, ducks, hens as well as some four-footed animals like pigs and so on, competing over their beauty. Mostly the young local men participate in this event. The balloons are hand-made from paper before the festival. After the hot air balloons successfully flied during the competitions, the crowed plays happily traditional instruments and dance. This festival is becoming more popular day by day and most people from any part of the country love to come and enjoy it.
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