May I take this opportunity to invite all of you to visit Laos this year. On behalf of the Lao Government, Lao people and my own behalf, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Korea for kind support and assistance throughout the last decades and we hope that will continue in the future.
May I take this opportunity once again to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Excellencies, diplomats, distinguished guests, participants as well as all supporters to this New Year celebration today? May I wish you all a happiness, good health, prosperity and great success in your careers and business, especially I would also like to wish the fruitful cooperation and friendly relationship between our two countries a prosperity and continuous expansion in order to bring more mutual benefits to the people of the Lao PDR and the Republic of Korea.
I thank you and a Happy New Year! States Amb. Keodalavong at Lao New Year reception. Ambassador and Mrs. The Laotians are known to believe that a human being is a union of thirty-two organs, of which each has the spirit or Khuan to protect them. These spirits often wander outside the body causing imbalance of the soul which might lead to an illness. The tying of the strings represents tying of the 32 spirits to the body putting them back in harmony as well as bringing good luck and prosperity to the intended person, could also be common for the whole family.
Laotian women performers present a traditional Laotian dance. Headline, November 2, Bangladesh marks 50th year of independence, birth centenary of Father of the Nation. Headline, October 13, Water has a cleansing effect, but also represents fertility — this is the driest time of the year in Laos. The ritual is to ensure that there is plenty of water for the upcoming rice cultivation season.
The first day of celebrations opens with a Baci , for which a certain number of monks needs to be present — in our case it was nine. There are vast numbers of monks in Laos for many reasons.
Temples have always offer ed education in the absence of schools, or of access to them. Another reason is that life in the temples saves people from poverty. Many Lao choose a temporary life in the temple if or when they are in need. Being a Buddhist monk is not a commitment for life, so monks can return to the secular world anytime.
Monks are the most highly respected people, and accordingly there are certain rules about how you can not approach or address them. It is the tradition to donate home-cooked food, drinks, money, and flowers to them. Giving alms to the mendicant monks is an ongoing tradition and ritual in Laos and dates back to the 14th century. In many places — e. Luang Prabang , a World Heritage sight which we visited for the Lao New Year celebrations — this ritual takes place every day, at 6 a. The women get up at 4 a.
Many tourists also appear, some to pay their respect to the monks, others to take photos or soak in the special atmosphere. In Luang Prabang there is a huge number of monks because of the many temples there, and hundreds of them collect the alms from the women for their one meal they have per day. There are also poor children who will kneel down to the monks so they will share their food with them.
The monks also then share their food and drink with the poor children who join the ceremony, so this is an occasion where everyone helps the other with a small donation. The Baci ceremony consists of ritual events.
The congregation will gather around it, as it has a central position. Alongside fruit and eggs and drinks are placed. They call for the spirit s to come back and inhabit the bodies of the people again for completeness and health. After that, the food and drinks are placed into their hands. The threads are white as this is the colour of purity, peace, good fortune, honesty, and warmth.
As it is meant to be lasting, it is meant to be worn at least for 3 days or until it unties itself or falls off, as good luck could not arrive if the threads are cut. Last, but not least, everyone who attended the Baci shares a meal together. Water probably plays the most important role in celebrating Lao New Year. Therefore, you are considered lucky and blessed when someone pours water over you. This results in people arming up with water guns, buckets, and whatever else they can find to fill with water and throw at each other.
Obviously, this is also a very welcome refreshment and actual relief in the heat. Before the splashing got out of hand at our LGTC celebration, first the persons in higher positions all sat down next to each other, putting their hands out for us to bless them with water and wish them all the best for the New Year.
We were lucky enough to witness Lao New Year at two different popular places, i. Vientiane and Luang Prabang, and we are happy to share our snapshots with you. During these days everyone definitely is in a different state of mind. Even work and other responsibilities seem to be less important for two weeks around the Lao New Year.
The whole country was in an exceptional state and you were nowhere safe from water being thrown at you. For example, walking down the crowded streets in Luang Prabang resulted in us having several buckets of water emptied over our heads all along the way. All in all we enjoyed that time of the year very much and are very grateful that we were lucky enough to be part of it.
Baci ceremony at LGTC. Lao New Year in Luang Prabang. Lao New Year was a veritable experience! Not only the different time of year when it takes place but also the way in which it is celebrated is very different to the customs we know from Germany. Personally, we prefer the Lao version in which people chase the old year with all its mitakes away as well as the oppressive heat, just with the help of lots of water and even more good thoughts.
Kulturschock Laos. Bielefeld: Reise KnowHow Verlag.
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