Festivals

Kalaw Tazaungdaing (Mee Chaw Daing Pwe – Fire work Festival)

The Tazaungdaing Festival marks the end of the rainy season. The tradition commemorates a widely known story of the Buddha’s life. In many parts of Myanmar, hot air balloons lit with candles are released as an offering. Among Tazaungdaing festivals, Kalaw Tazaungdaing Festival (Mee Chaw Daing or Fire work Festival) is an epic one and unique in its own way for its breathtaking firework-launching activities. Giant stacks of fireworks are placed at the tops of the bamboo poles, and the poles are erected one after another in the field. When lit, each one of the poles of fireworks sprays the crowd with fireworks for several minutes. This festival is less more crowded than Taung Gyi Tazaungdaing , yet very special one which not to be missed.

Tar Tat Pwe

Tar Tat Pwe is one of the most interesting traditional festivals of Danu and Taung Yoe tribes who live in and around Kalaw. This is considered to be their New Year festival and usually starts from the last day of Thingyan (April 16th) till (May 4th). Celebration goes around village to village and during the festive time, people make donations in cooperative manner to the nearby monasteries and pagodas around the villages. This unique procession is held in a way that, villagers offer meals and other objects to the monks. Also, nearby villages within comes with their best offering along with “Oh-Se Band” traditional orchestra to join this festival. This has been reciprocal process that during this window period one can imagine the multitude of the festivities. Beside religious activities, there is social attraction about this festival as this is a major social encounter for the youths. As all the young boys and girls participate in the festival, this is said to be the best time to find love.

Phaungdaw Oo Pagoda Festival

The Phaung Daw U Pagoda festival, held annually, during the Myanmar month of Thadingyut, usually between September and October in Inle Lake is one of the most famous festivals in Myanmar. The festival is held with the dates according to the Lunar Calendar which begins on the first Waxing day of Thadingyut and ends a couple of days after the Full Moon.
A large boat with a Golden Hintha (Hamsa) Bird creation is built. The Buddha Images tour around the Inle Lake from village to village which the procession takes 18 days to complete. During the festival, only four of the Buddha Images are moved onto the royal barge. One image always remains at the temple. The decorated royal barge is towed by several boats moving by leg-rowers of Inle. The barge is towed from village to village along the shores of the lake in clockwise fashion, and the four images reside at the main monastery in each village for the night. The high point of the festival is on the day when the images arrive at the main town of Nyaung Shwe, where most pilgrims from the surrounding region come to pay their respects and veneration by boats. There are hundreds of floating boats from far and near.

The Fire Balloon Festival

Tazaungdine festival with Kahtein (offering of monk robes) is one of Myanmar’s most famous festivals. Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival, in which releasing fire- balloons in the shape of elephant, Ox, horse, water-buffalo, bird, pig, fish, owl and parrot are released in to the sky in competitive manner. Taunggyi Fire Balloon Festival draws people not only from all over the country but also abroad as this is popular amongst tourist as a major event.
The daytime hours are focussed around family entertainment, with large animal-shaped balloons – but the revelries go on through the night until the early hours of the following morning, when huge balloons laden with hundreds of fireworks are sent up into the sky.