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Water festival enthusiasts especially young people are researching and composing plans for the upcoming Thingyan or Myanmar's New Year Water Festival, as the country gears up to usher in its New Year.
Among the country's 12 festivals, the Thingyan water festival which lasts for four days starting Monday, is considered to be the grandest since it brings peace and prosperity to the people of Myanmar.
Huge pandals being built herald the upcoming festive season and along with the repeated telecasts of golden-oldie Thingyan songs by aspiring vocalists -- accompanied by dancing actresses and models wearing fauxpadauk in their hair, as well as young people sporting brightly dyed hair in eye-catching styles -- people flocking to buy festival-related goods is also a harbinger of the celebrations.
For money-mined wealthy people and entrepreneurs, it is time to compete for the right to set up a pandal, have fun, make money and promote their products all at the same time.
Water-throwing pandal organizers and ticket sellers also advertise and promote their pandals with pamphlets and advertising boards as well as through social media sites where everyone can find details about the names, locations, facilities and ticket prices of every pandal in Yangon.
Construction of roadside water-throwing pandals are underway along major roads including Pyay, Kabaraye Pagoda and Kandawgyi Lake roads as well as along the palace moat in Mandalay.
The authorities have allowed more than 200 water-throwing pandals including large and small ones in the city.
More police and security personnel will be deployed at large and medium pavilions to ensure the safety of all revelers during the Thingyan water festival.
For rich adventurists, it is a time to spread wings and celebrate Thingyan abroad.
For the aged, it is time to seek shelter in meditation centers and learn more about Buddhism.
On the other hand, most of the Myanmar's overseas workers tend to return to the country ahead of the water festival to enjoy merrymaking and making donations together with their families and colleagues.
Hotel rooms are now fully booked in Yangon, Mandalay and other major cities as holiday-makers, including foreign tourists, have arrived to join and enjoy the water festival.
Mandalay's festival will be crowded with audiences and revelers as the whole city has arranged entertainment programs and will present a decorated float.
The water festival will run for four days until next Thursday after which the country will usher in its New Year on April 17, according to Myanmar's calendar.
But the public holidays for the water festival officially begin on April 12 and will last until April 21, or a total of 10 days.
During the festive period, people with buckets, pots and cans of water splash passersby. People spray water on revelers using hosepipes operated with powerful pumps.
Bands with popular singers and dancers are hired to entertain the masses.
A series of merry-making activities are offered for passersby, along with fresh drinks and Myanmar traditional foods.
In towns and villages, people continue to have fun during Thingyan in the way their forefathers used to.
People living in particular states and regions continue to celebrate Thingyan in their own style.
For example, people in Rakhine State celebrate the sandalwood grinding competition participated by Rakhine women and held on New Year's eve to offer sandalwood paste to the Buddha images on pagodas on New Year's day.
Moreover, people also prepare a dish called Thingyan rice.
On the New Year's day, the fun activities end and people concentrate only on merit making activities like going to the pagoda together and releasing cattle, birds and fish.
Young people wash their hair and have manicures for their elders to get good deeds.
In olden days, Myanmar's people used to sprinkle water gently with leaves on one another as a traditional way of holding the festival, but it has developed into full-on water fights using water guns and plastic pipes joined to water pumps to create more power and boost the fun.
Water is a symbol of not only cleanliness but also auspiciousness. Myanmar's people believe that celebration of the water festival can wash away past evil and sin and prepare for a happy year ahead.
Among Myanmar's 12 seasonal festivals throughout the year, the Thingyan water festival represents the grandest, bringing peace and prosperity to the entire population.
