What are the Buddhist festivals in Laos?

Charly R.
Oct 11, 2019
5 min read

Buddhism is an integral part of Laotian culture. All over the country, you can admire temples, meet monks in saffron robes or take part in traditional rites. The most regular ceremony is the monk offering ceremony (Tak Bat), which takes place every morning at dawn throughout the country.

Throughout most of the year, major events take place all over the country according to the Buddhist calendar.

Have you ever heard of the Buddhist Lent, when festivals and weddings take a break, monks stay in their temples and the whole country stops drinking alcohol (normally)? Or the Festival of Lights, when each village makes its own boat of lights from bamboo, palm leaves and mulberry paper? The boat is paraded through the Mekong River, illuminated by hundreds of lights.

Numerous celebrations punctuate the year for believers. Since you're interested, we'll tell you all about it in this article. Happy reading!

January :

Boun Khoun Khao

After the rice has been harvested, this festival is organized to thank the spirits of the land and ensure that the next harvest will be fruitful. In towns and villages, ceremonies are held in people's homes. People sit around a bouquet of flowers called Pha Khouan. The village elder presides over the Baci ceremony and ties white cotton strings around the wrists of others to wish them good luck and happiness. Offerings such as fried Mekong fish, papaya salad and rice alcohol are made at the altar of the spirits.

Boun Pha Vet

This festival takes place in the temples. The story of Prince Phravet Santara is told over 3 days. This is a sacred moment, as it is considered the ideal time for ordination as a monk. During the festival, the Buddhist faithful of Laos organize Bacis, prepare traditional dishes and enjoy time with family and friends.

February :

Boun Makha Bousa

This festival takes place on the full moon. It commemorates the speech Buddha gave to 1,250 monks. The festival is marked by large parades of devotees and monks marching around the temples with candles in hand.

April :

Boun Pi Mai Lao

This is the Buddhist New Year festival. Usually held in mid-April, it lasts 4 days. This date corresponds to the start of the rainy season, and thus highlights the importance of water in people's lives. It's also a festival based on purification, during which statues and paintings of Buddha are cleaned with sacred water. This precious liquid is then used to sprinkle other festival-goers to purify them and bring them good luck for the coming year. In Luang Prabang and Vientiane, this festival gives rise to a giant city-wide water battle and parades, making for an incredible experience.

May :

Boun Visakha Bousa

This festival takes place on the 15th day of the 6th lunar month and celebrates the birth, death and awakening of Buddha. Processions of believers with candles in hand take place in the evening.

Boun Bang Fai

This is the festival of the call for rain and fertility. Held just before the rainy season, it's a convivial, festive ceremony during which people dance, listen to music and parade through the streets. The highlight of the event is the firing of locally-made rockets to summon the rain needed to grow rice. The Nagas (snake-like deities of water) are also asked to pass from the rivers to the rice fields. This festival takes place in some of the country's districts, including Vientiane and Muang Nan, 3 hours south of Luang Prabang.

June :

Boun Khao Phansa

Held on the full moon, this festival marks the beginning of Buddhist Lent. For 3 months, monks retire to their temples to meditate during the rainy season. Novices and monks must stay together in the pagoda, leaving only in cases of extreme emergency.

August :

Boun Khao Padab Dinh

Depending on the lunar calendar, this event can be held in August or September. In the morning, Laotians visit the temples to make offerings to their ancestors. In the afternoon, wooden pirogues race down the Nam Khan River to Luang Prabang. Some of these can accommodate up to 55 rowers! The whole town lives to the rhythm of the competition.

September :

Boun Khao Salak

Organized on the full moon, donations are made to a particular monk who has been selected by a lottery system. He is given everyday items such as books, pencils, sugar, coffee, etc. This ritual brings merit to the believers who make these donations. It is one of the most important celebrations of the year for Buddhists.

October :

Boun Ok Phansa (the festival of lights)

Held on the full moon at the end of the rainy season, this ceremony marks the end of Buddhist Lent. At this time, the monks can leave the temples to rejoin their families. They are welcomed with gifts and food. At nightfall, the festival is accompanied by the release on the river of small floating handmade boats decorated with candles. In Luang Prabang, the whole city is decked out in lights and the temples are decorated with lanterns.

There's also a procession of legendarily shaped “light boats” made from bamboo and paper and lit with countless candles. These are then placed on the Mekong River as an offering to the spirits and a blessing to believers. Flowers are also offered to the aquatic deities to avoid attracting bad luck and to thank the Nagas.

November :

Boun That Luang

Boun Pha That Luang is Vientiane's most important festival. It takes place over three to seven days during the full moon of the twenty-fifth lunar month. It begins with a colorful procession. Believers carry flowers, candles, incense and wax castles decorated with flowers and banknotes. Men and women dance and play traditional music.

The following morning, at dawn in Pha That Luang, crowds gather to give alms to hundreds of monks from all over the country. In the afternoon, everyone gathers on the esplanade for the traditional game of Tikhy, a variant of tar field hockey. The festival ends with a fireworks display.

As you can imagine, Laos lives to the rhythm of Buddhist celebrations. All year round, these ceremonies are an opportunity to attract good luck, honor ancestors, promote harvests, etc. We'd like to thank the Tourism Office for their help in writing this article. When you visit Luang Prabang, we recommend that you ask for their booklet “A guide to Luang Prabang, the land of a million elephants”. And if you'd like to start planning your trip to Laos, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for reading this article, and see you soon!

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