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Next: 13 to 16 Apr 2027

Thingyan

Yellow padauk flowers in the hair, pale thanaka paste on the cheeks and water thrown from street stages.

The painting of Thingyan festival by Pagan era artists
Photo: Pagan era painter(s), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The colours of Thingyan

Thingyan is the water festival that leads into the Burmese new year. The flower of the festival is padauk, a tree that bursts into small golden-yellow blossom after the first April rain and holds it for only a day or two. Women pin sprays of padauk in their hair, and the flower is seen as a sign of youth and faithfulness. Faces are patted with thanaka, a cream-yellow paste ground from tree bark that cools the skin and is worn in Myanmar all year. Water is thrown from decorated stages called pandals, and the idea is that it washes away the faults of the old year. On new year's day people free fish and birds and wash the hair of the old.

#F4C20DPadauk yellowThe flower that blooms for the festival.
#EAD9A8Thanaka creamBark paste worn on the cheeks.
#49A6DAWater blueWater to wash the old year away.
#2F8F5BLongyi greenBright sarongs worn by dance troupes.

Values are fair approximations, not official shades.

Read about the colours

YellowPadauk blossom.CreamThanaka paste.
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Thingyan" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

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