According to scholars, In Burma there is a three day New Year festival called Maha Thingyan, which is celebrated with prayers, fasting and fun. During the festivities, buildings and temples are washed, and people throw water over each other. This is partly to welcome the heavy rains of the coming monsoon season.
The Burmese New Year festival is held to celebrate the New Year, by performing meritorious deeds and spraying one another with Thingyan water.
The Burmese New Year, which is based on the Fixed Zodiac system, falls on or around April 16. Thingyan means change. Cula thingyan (or small change) occurs every month. Maha thingyan (or big change) occurs once a year. The Burmese consider it to occur in Meiktha on or around April 13 and lasting three or four days.
Thingyan is the traditional Burmese New Year's festival. It lasts for three days and during that time everyone must get wet in order to welcome in the New Year. The Burmese believe that water acts as a soul purifier. Getting wet means that one can start the New Year with a cleansed soul.
let me tell you about “Burmese family”. Family is important in Burmese culture. While I was at the festival, I saw young people being disobedient to their parents. I was so hurt by seeing these people because I know what a family means. I know that those parents are hurt by the ways their children are treating to them. But they can not show their feelings openly because “they are in the United States”. The family is very important in my family as well. But at the festival, most young people who were born here or grwon up here have hard tim followingt the traditions of the family. I am not saying that only parents have hard time teaching their children about Burrmese traditions and values. But aslo, the children also have the hard time to obey them. I know that they want to do what their parents did to their grandparents. The problem is the children spend so little time with their parents. If father works first shift then the mother works second shift. The children have school at 8:00 in the morning. So, where is the time for the parents to sit down and teach the value ? Most of them don’t have the time. The children have to spend all day with their classmates and neighbors who I am sure are American. So, everyday they are learing American culture and what American people call “ Freedom”. But a the festival, the families seem to put their very best afford to their children because I saw their children dressed in Burmese cloth and talking politely to their parents and other people.
Burmese people are very sensitive and very fragile. They are easy to love other person and hard to hate other person. At the festival, I saw everything that I am supposed to see. As an outsider and as an insider, there is one thing I might say is that Burmese people have beautiful traditions and beautiful beliefs. And I believe wherever they are, they will still be the same and follow their traditions and customs. Anyhow, by conclusion, even though those people have their values, customs and their own Burmese culture, they try their best to express what Burmese celebration look like in a foreign country. They try their best to bring the Burmese traditions and culture to American community with a hope that one day, American people and community will recognize Burmese as people with the golden culture and golden traditions.