Cultural Events Calendar

Pi Mai The lunar New Year begins in mid-April and practically the entire country comes to a halt and celebrates. Houses are cleaned, people put on new clothes and Buddha images are washed with lustral water. In the wats, offerings of fruit and flowers are made at various altars and votive mounds of sand or stone are fashioned in the courtyards. Later the citizens take to the streets and douse one another with water, which is enjoyable as April is usually the hottest month of the year. This festival is particularly picturesque in Luang Prabang, where it includes elephant processions.