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=> The Water Festival

The Water Festival (Burmese: သင်္ကြန်, thingyan; Khmer: បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី; Lao: ສົງການ; Thai: สงกรานต์, Tamil: சொங்க்ரான், songkran; Chinese: 潑水節) is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand as well as Yunnan, China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because people pour water at one another as part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the new year. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but as the new year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passersby in vehicles in boisterous celebration. The act of pouring water is also a show of blessings and good wishes. It is believed that on this Water Festival, everything old must be thrown away, or it will bring the owner bad luck.

The festival has many different names specific to each country, such as Songkran in Thailand and Pi-Mai Lao in Laos (translates as "New Year"), Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia, and Thingyan in Myanmar. The New Year is celebrated in other South Asian countries, based on the astrological event of the sun beginning its northward journey. Traditional dance, singing and cultural shows are performed together during the festival. Religious activities in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism are also carried out at both pagoda and monastery. Young people visit elders to pay respect during this period.

Hetalia, England aph, Spain aph, Egypt aph, Italy aph, Macau aph & Netherlands aph belonged to Himaruya H.
Spice Islands is Maluku Islands in Indonesia.
Indonesia aph, Malaysia aph & Portugal aph based on Himaruya's sketch. ([link])
India OC & Mughal OC design by dinosaurusgede
Philippines OC design by
Brunei Darussalam OC design by
Japan 17th century design by
Cambodia OC & Myanmar OC by