Great Time of the Year : Lao New Year

     Time goes by so fast, I couldn't have imagined that now is almost the end of the year.

December is a month that has two important celebrations, Christmas and International

New Year. People will enjoy to celebrate these holidays all over the world. I think other

countries have their own New Year celebration as well as my country. We also celebrate

New Year which is called “Pi Mai Lao” or “Lao New Year”. It’s celebrated during 3 days,

around April 14 to 16 every year. People pray and pour water with perfume and flowers

to Buddha statues approximately in 9 temples because Lao’s people believe that it’s a lucky

number. It’s find to do more or less ,but it’s better to do as an odd number of temples.

We believe that this execution will make you have good luck, and you can wash all bad luck

away. Then you are going to have good things and good news all year.

       Apart from that, people are also have fun during this festival. They splash water to each

other, if you go to Laos around this time you will see so many people enjoying, splashing

water and having water gun fights around the city.

        In Lao New Year have a ceremony called “Baci”. This ceremony gathers family to make

a wish for each other. The elders the children and wish them good health, a long life.

Children normally ask for forgiveness from their elders for something wrong that they have

done in the past. Also the ceremony includes tying white cotton string around people’s wrist

for luck and to live without any illness.