About Burmese New Year
Burmese New Year takes place at the culmination of the Thingyan Water Festival.
The New Year holidays are usually extended to the public sector and bolted on to the end of the Thingyan holidays.
Traditions of Burmese New Year
After three days of partying and soaking everybody during Thingyan, the celebrations begin to recede and the traditional New Year's Day customs take centre stage.
Like other New Years, this is a day to make fresh resolutions for the coming year, usually about changing bad behaviour and promising to do more good deeds for karma.
An unusual custom is releasing fish. Before the day, The fish are rescued from lakes and rivers that are drying up. They are kept in huge glazed earthen pots and jars before being released on New Year's Day into larger lakes and rivers with a prayer and a wish saying "I release you once, you release me ten times".
On New Year's Day, people offer food called Satuditha to passers-by and those celebrating new year. Satuditha is an act that shows the important charitable side of Burmese culture.
