The end of Buddhist Lent festival with candles & boat procession.
There are two festivals going on
Boun Ork Phansa is the last day of Buddhist Lent. It occurs on the 15th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar. In the morning, donations and offering are made at temples around the country. In the evening candlelight processions are held around the temples while hundreds around of colorful floats decorated with flowers, incense and candles are set adrift down and rivers giving thanks to the river spirit (Lai Heua Fai). They are said to pay respect to the Buddha and to thank the mother of rivers for providing water for our lives as well as to ask for blessing and to float the bad luck for the past year away, enabling the good luck to flow in. Villagers who live far from rivers set up model boat made of banana stems and decorated with flowers and candlelight, while other simply light up some candles in front of their houses and do their prayer, wishing for good luck. This colorful ritual has been carried on by Lao people for thousands of years.
Boun Lai Heua Fai is a festival for the Phanang Naga which is held during Boun Xouang Heua in order to bring good luck. Each village in many provinces makes and decorates a boat. The boats are then paraded through the town, at night they are lunched onto the river and ceremoniously set on fire as offerings to spirits. This festival involves floating the ritual flowers onto the river, to send of bad luck and give thanks to the water spirits. When holding boat race, people ritually reclaim the land from the Naga, chasing them out from fields and streams and back into the Mekong River.
28 Oct 2023
08:00 Decorating around Chomsi Stupa
13:00 Monks and locals gather for a religious ceremony at Chomsi Stupa
14:00 Traditional religious chanting at Chomsi Stupa
18:30 Enjoy seeing the town lit up with lanterns and candles
29 Oct 2023
06:00 Almsgiving
09:00 An all-day religious ceremony at Chomsi Stupa
18:30 Enjoy seeing the town lit up with lanterns and candles
30 Oct 2023
18:00 The fireboats gather at the National Museum
18:30 Leaders and guests arrive at the platform at the base of Phou Si
18:30 A religious ceremony to open the festival at Wat Pa Houak
19:00 Begin the fireboat procession along Sisavangvong Road to Wat Xieng Thong
20:30 Leaders and guests release floating lanterns into the Mekong at Wat Nong
There are two festivals going on
Boun Ork Phansa is the last day of Buddhist Lent. It occurs on the 15th day of the 11th month of the lunar calendar. In the morning, donations and offering are made at temples around the country. In the evening candlelight processions are held around the temples while hundreds around of colorful floats decorated with flowers, incense and candles are set adrift down and rivers giving thanks to the river spirit (Lai Heua Fai). They are said to pay respect to the Buddha and to thank the mother of rivers for providing water for our lives as well as to ask for blessing and to float the bad luck for the past year away, enabling the good luck to flow in. Villagers who live far from rivers set up model boat made of banana stems and decorated with flowers and candlelight, while other simply light up some candles in front of their houses and do their prayer, wishing for good luck. This colorful ritual has been carried on by Lao people for thousands of years.
Boun Lai Heua Fai is a festival for the Phanang Naga which is held during Boun Xouang Heua in order to bring good luck. Each village in many provinces makes and decorates a boat. The boats are then paraded through the town, at night they are lunched onto the river and ceremoniously set on fire as offerings to spirits. This festival involves floating the ritual flowers onto the river, to send of bad luck and give thanks to the water spirits. When holding boat race, people ritually reclaim the land from the Naga, chasing them out from fields and streams and back into the Mekong River.
28 Oct 2023
08:00 Decorating around Chomsi Stupa
13:00 Monks and locals gather for a religious ceremony at Chomsi Stupa
14:00 Traditional religious chanting at Chomsi Stupa
18:30 Enjoy seeing the town lit up with lanterns and candles
29 Oct 2023
06:00 Almsgiving
09:00 An all-day religious ceremony at Chomsi Stupa
18:30 Enjoy seeing the town lit up with lanterns and candles
30 Oct 2023
18:00 The fireboats gather at the National Museum
18:30 Leaders and guests arrive at the platform at the base of Phou Si
18:30 A religious ceremony to open the festival at Wat Pa Houak
19:00 Begin the fireboat procession along Sisavangvong Road to Wat Xieng Thong
20:30 Leaders and guests release floating lanterns into the Mekong at Wat Nong
