The 27th Macao Burmese (Myanmar Overseas Chinese) Water Festival will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Three Lamps District. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Myanmar new year and also aims to boost the local community’s economy.
Temporary traffic measures will be implemented in phases in the Three Lamps district from tomorrow to the following Monday. Both motorcycle and metered car-parking spaces on neighbouring streets will be affected.
The two-day event will feature a float parade, food stalls, an evening prayer session and an outdoor water-sprinkling carnival – a tradition that symbolises the cleansing of sins and washing away of ill fortune.
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More popularly known as Songkran, after the Thai name for the festival, the beginning of the Solar New Year is called Thingyan in Myanmar. Like its Thai counterpart, it gives central importance to the pouring of water as a purification ritual.
The use of water is also part of Chinese religious observance. On the following weekend, 3 to 4 May, a Bathing the Buddha ceremony will be held in celebration of the Buddha’s birthday in front of the Na Tcha Temple near the Ruins of St. Paul.
The event will see the setup of charity stalls selling vegetarian food and cultural and creative products, as well as Cantonese opera performances and prayers for world peace and social stability.
