Thingyan

Thingyan (Burmese: သင်္ကြန်; MLCTS: sangkran, [θɪ́ɴdʑàɴ]; Arakanese: [θɔ́ɴkràɴ]; from Sanskrit saṁkrānti, which means "transit [of the Sun from Pisces to Aries]") is the Burmese New Year Water Festival and usually falls around mid-April (the Burmese month of Tagu). It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days, culminating in the New Year. Formerly the dates of the Thingyan Festival were calculated according to the Burmese calendar but they are now fixed to Gregorian calendar 13 to 16 April; it often coincides with Easter. The dates of the festival are observed as the most important public holiday throughout Burma and are part of the summer holidays at the end of the school year. Water-throwing or dousing one another from any shape or form of vessel or device that delivers water is the distinguishing feature of this festival and may be done on the first four days of the festival. However, in most parts of the country, it does not begin in earnest until the second day. Thingyan is comparable to other new year festivities in Theravada Buddhist areas of Southeast Asia such as Songkran in Laos, and Thailand, the Cambodian New Year, the Sinhalese New Year, the Pana Sankranti in Odisha and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Rongali Bihu in Assam. Marma people in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Rakhine people also celebrate it in same time by name of Sangrain or Sangren respectively.