festival of light -the temples

Wat Mai

 Wat Aham

Wat Chomkong

What Xieng Moune - absolutely stunning

What Xieng Moune

Wat Aphay

festival of light - the parade

Amazing Gatow for sale.  Candles lit and incense lighted, each family will float one of these down the Mekong as a thank you to the Mekong.  They all carry all your cares away with them.

Above:  The fireboat from Bann Xieng Thong

Below: During the parade

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The winning boat from Air Asia

This amazing bird got the Falang vote for best boat

  

Jo and my gatow carrying our cares away down the Mekong

Festival of light - the end of Buddhist Lent - Boun Ok Phansa - the preparations

Buddhist Lent lasts for 3 lunar months during the rainy season.  It started on the 16th of July and it finishes the day after the full moon in October - the 17th.  

These are the things that I have noticed happen in Buddhist lent:

• Monks are not to stay away from their temples for more than 7 days.
• Monks and novices get up even earlier in the morning and pray and meditate more.
• I've met people who have given up alcohol for Lent.    
• There don't appear to be weddings during Lent.
• There might be less parties.

There is a great buildup to the festival and it feels like a very exciting time.  All the temples will be decorated with lights and lanterns and the making of these is in progress. Bamboo has been delivered to most temples and monks, novices and people from each village have started making boats. At the festival, they will be decorated with candles and money.  

On the night of the festival, boats from all the village, (Bann) gather at Wat Xiengthong and are then launched on to the Mekong.  Wishes are made for good luck in the future and respects are paid to the spirit of the waters.  Families and individuals can launch their own symbolic candle lit boats.  Imagine 20,000 boats slowly making their way down the Mekong?  This is said to be the most beautiful festival of the many beautiful festivals in Luang Prabang.

  

Making the boats

Wat Aham

        

Novices Thong and Phut at Wat Xieng Moune.

Beautiful photos by (I think) Novice Tay

Candles and lanterns

          

Monk Pheng - Wat Aham

Tin cans having the wicks put in place.

Six to seven hundred candles might be made 

at this temple alone.

          

Melting the wax

       

Monk Thone

     

Lanterns ready and waiting at Wat Xieng Moune

         

       

        

       

                 

Making our own gatows at TAEC.

These are the traditional offerings.  We light incense 

and candles on them and put them into the Mekong to say 

thank you to the river and as they sail away down the river, 

all of our cares are taken with them.

I am now officially "care less".  (that has been said before)

                     

My gatow -very amateur, but it did pass the "float" test.

So beautiful

What Chomkong