Myanmar designates long new year holidays for first time

Myanmar has designated for the first time a 10-day-long new year holidays for the country's people to mark the upcoming Myanmar new year to replace the traditional five-day holidays, according to a notification of the government published on Saturday's all official newspapers.

To enable Myanmar people to take part in the traditional water throwing festival, go to pagodas and stupas to perform meritorious deeds and keep precepts, pay respects to elderly persons and do charity and for the state service personnel to be able to take a vacation for rest and recreation after a long work of the whole year, the long holidays were designated, said the notification of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

Myanmar's Thingyan water festival falls in the middle of April according to Myanmar calendar and the festival lasts for four days after which the new year day comes. Myanmar people spend the day by doing deeds of merit such as washing heads of elderly people with scented water and setting free animals such as bird and fish.

Among the 12 traditional seasonable festivals of Myanmar, the water festival is known as the merriest one.

In the olden days, Myanmar people used to sprinkle water gently with leaves in one another as a traditional way of holding the festival, but it has developed for a long time into a way that people are throwing water and splashing with water-gun and even with plastic pipes being joined to water pumps to create throwing force to increase pleasure.

Water is a symbol of cleanliness and auspiciousness. Myanmar people believe that celebration of the water festival can wash away evils and sins accumulated in the old days and prepare for the new one, bringing the people into a happy new year.

Editor: Cindy