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Festivals & Events
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January |
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Bun Pha Wet |
Falling on different
dates throughout the month - so that people can
exchange invitations with friends and families in
different villages to join in their celebrations -
this festival is a commemoration of the Jataka, the
life story of Lord Buddha as Prince Vestsantara. The
story is recited in temples throughout the country
and this is considered a particularly auspicious
time for ordination as a monk. |
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February |
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Magha Puja |
Held on the night of the
full moon, this festival commemorates the original
teachings of Lord Buddha given to over a thousand
monks who came spontaneously to hear him speak. The
festival is marked by grand parades of
candle-bearing worshippers circling their local
temples, merit-making, and much religious music and
chanting. |
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Vietnamese Tet & Chinese
New Year |
Celebrated in Vientiane,
Pakse and Savannakhet by the larger Vietnamese and
Chinese communities, who close their businesses for
several days during this period, this festival
combines visits to temples and merit making with
noisy parties, and hundreds of strings of
firecrackers. |
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March |
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Boun Khoun Khao |
A harvest festival
celebrated at local temples |
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April |
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Boun Pimai |
Lasting several days in
mid-April, this is the celebration of the Lao New
Year and is a combination of merriment and
meditation. Similar to festivals at this time of
year in other Southeast Asian countries -
particularly Thailand - Boun Pimai is celebrated
with parades, dancing, singing and enthusiastic
water-throwing. The religious aspects of the
festival are most apparent in Luang Prabang, where
water pouring ceremonies are used to Buddha statues
are worshiped with water pouring ceremonies. Temple
compounds are further decorated with small sand
Stupas, offered as merit towards good fortune and
health. |
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May |
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Labour Day 1st Ma |
public holiday |
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Visakha Puja |
Chanting, religious
instruction, and candlelit processions highlight
this temple festival in celebration of the birth,
enlightenment and death of the Buddha. |
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Boun Bang Fai (rocket
festival) |
With its origins in
pre-Buddhist rain-invoking ceremonies, this festival
now coincides with the Lao Visakha Puja
celebrations. Parades, songs, dances and partying
all lead to an explosive climax as huge, ornate,
homemade bamboo rockets are blessed and fired into
the skies to invite the rains. Rocket-makers earn
both merit and honour if their creations fly high.
This dramatic festival is also celebrated in north
east Thailand. |
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June/July |
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Children's Day |
(1st June - public
holiday) |
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Khao Phansaa |
Marking the beginning of
the three-month Buddhist Lent, which commences at
the full moon in July and continues until the full
moon in October, this is considered a particularly
auspicious time for Lao men to enter the monkhood
and is marked by numerous ordination ceremonies. |
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August |
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Haw Khao Padap Din |
Devoted to remembering
and paying respect to the dead, it is marked by the
macabre ceremony of exhuming previously buried
bodies, cleaning the remains, and then cremating
them on the night of the full moon. Relatives then
present gifts to the monks who have chanted on
behalf of those who have passed away. |
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October |
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Awk Phansaa (Awk Watsa) |
Marking the end of the
three-month Buddhist Lent on the day of the full
moon. Monks are at last permitted to leave the
temple and are presented with gifts. One
particularly beautiful aspect is Lai Hua Fai. On the
eve of Awk Phansaa people gather at the nearest body
of water to release dozens of small banana-leaf
boats decorated with candles, incense and small
flowers, in a celebration similar to the Thai Loy
Krathong. |
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Bun Nam (water festival) |
In riverside towns such
as Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet, the
highly competitive Bun Nam boat races (suang heua)
are held during the same time as Awk Phansaa.
Smaller communities sometimes hold these races on
National Day on 2nd December |
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November |
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Boun That Luang |
Though celebrated at many
temples around the country, this festival is
traditionally centred at That Luang in Vientiane.
Fairs, beauty contests, music and fireworks take
place throughout the week of the full moon, and end
with a candlelight procession (wien thien) around
the temple of That Luang. |
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December |
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Lao National Day (2nd
December - public holiday) |
Streets strewn with
national flags and banners, processions, parades,
and speeches are the highlights of this celebration
for the victory of the proletariat in 1975. |
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Public Holidays
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Jan 1 |
New Year's Day |
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Jan 6 |
Pathet Lao Day |
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Jan 20 |
Army Day |
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Feb 1 |
Chinese New Year |
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Mar 8 |
Chinese New Year |
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Mar 22 |
Day of the People's Party |
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Apr 13-15 |
Lao New Year (Pi Mai) |
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May 1 |
Labour Day |
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May 16 |
Birth of Buddha |
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Jun 1 |
Children's Day |
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Jul 13 |
Khao Pansa (Buddhist Fast
begins) |
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Aug 13 |
13 Lao Issara (Day of the
Free Laos) |
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Oct 5 |
Bouk ok Pansa (Buddhist
Fast ends) |
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Oct 12 |
Day of Liberation |
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Dec 2 |
National Day |
