Mandalay to celebrate Thadingyut with 10,000 oil lamps

 

MANDALAY will hold its grand Thadingyut Festival, featuring a lighting ceremony of 10,000 oil lamps, along 26th Street between 66th and 73rd Streets on the southern side of Mandalay moat. The festival will include religious offerings at pagodas, entertainment by famous singers, and the setting up of traditional food-offering pavilions.

The festival will be officially celebrated on Thadingyut Full Moon Day, 17 October. However, the streets will be lit up from the evening of 16 October, the day before the full moon, according to U Tin Htun Oo, head of the Public Relations and Information Department of the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC).

“There will be two main archways, one at the top of 66th Street and another at 73rd Street along 26th Street. Decorative lights will be set up and adjusted all along 26th Street. The opening ceremony will begin at 6 pm, featuring a beautiful fireworks display to mark the official opening. At the corner of 26th Street and 66th Street, an offering of ten thousand oil lamps will be lit in homage at the replica of the Bagan Shwezigon Pagoda.” he said.

The entertainment programme will take place in front of the MCDC office, with performances by renowned national vocalists and the Mandalay City Development Committee band. The festival will also feature a fair with market stalls. A total of 12 pavilions for the offering of foods will serve meals and snacks to attendees from 6 pm to 10 pm throughout the festival. — Maung Aye Chan/KZL