Tazaungdaing Festival တန်ဆောင်တိုင်ပွဲတော် | |
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Also called | Festival of Lights |
Observed by | Burmese |
Type | Buddhist |
Date | Full moon day of Tazaungmon |
Related to | Loy Krathong (in Thailand and Laos), Il Poya (in Sri Lanka), Bon Om Touk (in Cambodia) |
The Tazaungdaing Festival (Burmese: တန်ဆောင်တိုင်ပွဲတော်, also known as the Festival of Lights and spelt Tazaungdine Festival), held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, is celebrated as a national holiday in Myanmar and marks the end of the rainy season.[2][3] It also marks the beginning of the Kathina (Kahtein in Burmese) season, during which monks are offered new robes and alms.
The festival's origins predate the introduction of Buddhism to Burma, and are believed to stem from the Kattika festival, which honors the guardian planets in Indian astrology.[4]