What are your impressions of the Lao New Year celebrations?

People nationwide had a joyful time celebrating Pi Mai Lao (Lao New Year) last week. This is the most important festival in the Lao calendar and is a time of endless fun that characterises the Lao identity. Vientiane Times took the chance to ask a few people about the activities they took part in this year, which everyone enjoyed despite the Covid outbreak. 

People make merit in a temple.

Ms Buapha Sengsavang, a resident of Xaysettha district, Vientiane: Like I usually do, I had a very good time with my family and friends. My family led our children and grandchildren in traditional ceremonies such as a Baci and Somma. We went to temples to pour water on Buddha images and had a lot of fun eating meals together and sprinkling water on each other. I think everyone enjoyed the Pi Mai Lao celebrations this year despite worries about Covid. Of course, I and everyone else did our best to prevent the spread of infection and were very careful about what we did.
 
Mr Pheth, a resident of Xaythany district, Vientiane: I had a great time over Lao New Year. As usual, the celebrations were very colourful and everyone dressed in bright clothes as we always do on this occasion. Along with everyone else, I took part in many of the traditional rituals. I went to several temples to pour water on Buddha images, make merit and ask for blessings, because I believe that doing good things will bode well for my life and work. I also took part in Baci ceremonies organised by other families and my friends. It’s good that people enjoyed small parties and rituals, with lots of drinking and dancing. But I do feel that people should cut down on drinking because almost everyone drives afterwards, which inevitably leads to accidents. I think it was good that outdoor entertainment and street parties were banned this year because of the Covid outbreak. This made it safer for everyone, both in terms of reducing the risk of accidents after drinking and slowing the spread of Covid.
 
Ms Tive, a resident of Xayaboury province: I was very happy with the celebrations, which I shared with my family and friends. I visited many of my relatives and they in turn visited my family and we all had fun together. I took part in a Somma ceremony for my parents and asked them for new year blessings. I also visited temples and poured water on Buddha images. Lao New Year is an important time and occurs only once a year, and I love it so much. I think it’s an excellent opportunity to foster cultural traditions and preserve our fine customs. Of course, this year it was important to take precautions because of the Covid outbreak, so I wore a face mask as often as I could and tried to keep a safe distance from other people.
Mr Khamphou, a resident of Savannakhet province: I had a great time over Lao New Year, which continues to be a very special event for our country and its people. Just as in other provinces, the celebrations in Savannakhet were very colourful and as meaningful as always. I celebrated with my family and friends. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves a great deal, even though we had to be aware of Covid prevention. There was a lot going on in people’s houses and of course the usual rituals at temples. At home, we enjoyed sharing meals, tying strings on each other’s wrists, pouring water on each other and wishing everyone good luck, health and happiness in the coming year. In the temples we visited, we splashed water on Buddha images, made merit and ask for blessing from monks. These are all fine traditions and of course we will continue to do the same in the future. It’s essential that we preserve these customs and I hope we can celebrate more fully next year if Covid is no longer with us.

By Visith Teppalath
(Latest Update April 18, 2022)