Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
Rlink2 Bot (talk | contribs) archive link repair, may include: archive.* -> archive.today, https for ghostarchive.org and archive.org |
||
Line 30:
In many parts of Myanmar, [[hot air balloon]]s lit with candles, are released to celebrate the full moon day, similar to [[Loi Krathong|Yi Peng]] celebrations in Northern Thailand. The balloons are released as an offering to the Sulamani [[cetiya]] in [[Trāyastriṃśa|Tavitisma]], a heaven in Buddhist cosmology and home of the [[Deva (Buddhism)|deva]]s, or as a way to drive away evil spirits. Among Tazaungdaing festivals, [[Taunggyi]]'s hot-air balloons and firework-launching competition is the most prominent festival. The origin of Taunggyi's hot-air balloons contest dates back to 1894, when the British first held hot air balloon competitions in Taunggyi, soon after the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War|annexation]] of [[Upper Burma]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=971|title=Pa-O: The Forgotten People|last=Nandar Chann|date=May 2004|work=The Irrawaddy|access-date=1 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=4205|title=When the British Lit up the Burmese Sky|last=Nandar Chann|date=November 2004|work=The Irrawaddy|access-date=1 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no494/n005.htm|title=Fire balloons fill the sky over Taunggyi|author=Zaw Win Than|date=26 October 2009|work=Myanmar Times|access-date=1 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101190533/http://www.mmtimes.com/no494/n005.htm|archive-date=1 January 2010}}</ref>
Alms-giving and charity, both religious and secular, including ''[[satuditha]]'' feasts (စတုဒိသာ), are also commonly undertaken during this festival, as a means of merit-making.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/timeout/603/timeout3160305.html|title=Light festival inspires spirit of selfless giving|author=Tin Moe Aung|date=28 November 2011|work=Myanmar Times|access-date=1 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202124817/http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/timeout/603/timeout3160305.html|archive-date=2 December 2011}}</ref> Others return home to pay homage to elders (''[[gadaw]]'') and visit pagodas. Many concerts and other secular festivities, such as live performances of traditional dramas like the [[Yama Zatdaw]], are also held between Thadingyut (the end of the [[Vassa|Buddhist lent]]) and Tazaungdaing.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no391/t003.htm|title=Festival month heats up|last=Shwe Gaung|first=Juliet|date=5 November 2007|work=Myanmar Times|access-date=1 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.
In pre-colonial times, the Burmese court worshiped 15 Hindu deities on the full moon day.<ref name="hard">{{cite book|last=Hardiman|first=John Percy|title=Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States|publisher=Government of Burma|date=1900|volume=2}}</ref> On the eighth waning day of that month, after a procession to the king, 8 [[pyatthat]] structures made of bamboo were burned.<ref name="hard"/>
| |||