Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival: Final day event at Maravijaya Buddha Image

The Tazaungdaing lighting festival at the Maravijaya Buddha Image in Dekkhinathiri township of Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory was successfully concluded on Monday, the full moon day of Tazaungmon.

Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and wife Daw Kyu Kyu Hla enjoyed the final day of the lighting festival which featured the offering of 9,000 candles, recitation of Maha Pathana Pali verses, display of fireworks, and the launch of hot-air balloons.

Additionally, the Buddha Park was adorned with LED lights, and products from local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) including foodstuffs and consumer goods were showcased and available for purchase. The Tazaungdaing Festivalalso known as the Festival of Lights held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Myanmar calendar, is celebrated as a national holiday in Myanmar and marks the end of the rainy season.

It also marks the beginning of the Kathina season, during which monks are offered new robes and alms. Robe-weaving competitions are also held throughout the country. In many parts of Myanmar, hot air balloons lit with candles, are released to celebrate the full moon day.

The Maravijaya Buddha image is the World’s Highest Sitting Marble Buddha image and it was built with the aims; to show the flourishing of Theravada Buddhism in Myanmar, to have Myanmar as a focal point of Theravada Buddhism, to ensure prosperity of the State and to contribute to peace and stability of the world. It’s built with the tradition of Buddhist culture, Myanmar arts and crafts.