Join us for 2015 Water Festival (Buddhist New Year Festival)
Saturday 4 April – Click here for Karen-language flyer or here for English flyer.
“Thingyan” (pronounced Thin Jarn) is the traditional water festival where younger people have to opportunity to sprinkle water on their elders as a sign or respect for each other. The water serves as a symbolic cleansing of our hands from evil and misfortune.
The water festival is very well celebrated in Asia and forms one of the most interesting and fun ways to welcome the lunar New Year. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival which was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbors.
Water Festival in 2013
In 2013 the Water Festival was celebrated at the Karen Buddhist monastery with traditional dancing, lots of Karen food, puring water on the Buddha images, a ceremony to show respects to elders, chanting, and a Dhamma teaching by Ven. Moonieinda.
