Laos, like many other Asian countries, is a place full of festivals and celebrations held throughout the year.
Holidays are mainly linked to crops in the countryside or to the Buddhist religion and are based on the lunar calendar, so every year the festivals in Laos take place on different days compared to the previous one.
If your time availability allows you to plan your trip to Laos during one of these festivals you will have the opportunity to enjoy and participate in a special moment together with the friendly and happy locals who will welcome you with a kind smile and, as it has already happened to me several times, it will invite you to join them and their families to the revelries.
During these holidays Loas is no longer that peaceful country that you can imagine, expect an explosion made of a colorful and happy celebration … especially during the Pi Mai (New Year’s Eve in Laos)!
I remember the sleepy city of Vientiane totally transformed, almost unrecognizable, during the festival days: from one day to the next the streets are covered with people in celebration and, as suddenly, as soon as the festivities end all the people disappear and the capital of the country returns to be the typical quiet Lao town.
The offices and even different shops are closed, so relax and enjoy the party too!
Some of the major festivals in Laos month by month:
January
- The new year’s eve is celebrated here as well as throughout the rest of the world.
- Boun Pha Vet: Jataka is celebrated, the birth of Prince Vestsantara, the second last incarnation of the Buddha. Usually celebrated in the temples where the prince’s story is recited. It is also a moment considered particularly favorable if one wants to become a monk.
February
- Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet: Many Laotians have families that come from China or Vietnam, especially in Vientaine, Pakse and Savannakhet. The new year is an important festival for them, celebrated for several days with “lion dances”, fireworks (all day …) and special food prepared only during this period of the year.
- Magha Puja: Celebrated during the full moon day, this festival commemorates the Buddha’s teachings given to more than 1250 enlightened monks who came spontaneously to hear him speak. The festival is characterized by songs and great parades of worshipers in procession, holding a candle, around the Laotian temples. The biggest celebration is held at the ruins of the Khmer Vat Phu temple in Champasack.
March
- Boun Khoun Khao festival: it’s the festival related to the harvest in the countryside, held in all the temples of the villages of Laos.
April
- Boun Pi Mai: The Laos New Year (Pi Mai means new year in Lao), the largest and most important celebration of the country. Part a religious festival, where all the Buddha statues are washed with holy water and part a fun party of water balloon that involves everyone: you will not escape, these days you can not stand out in the street without being targeted by a water gun or a few buckets, the streets are covered with happy people partying for three whole days!
This is perhaps the best time to visit Laos, remember that you will probably be chased by someone who will cordially soak you with water up to your underwear, so maximum precaution! Do not carry expensive cameras (or at least protect them), computers or other electronic equipment in non-waterproof backpacks, they usually sell cell phone cases that should prevent water from penetrating … if you trust!
May/June
- Boun Bang Fai: Rocket Festival. An ancient and very entertaining holiday, the villages gather and shoot huge home-made bamboo rockets into the sky as a sign of rain for the planting season. This festival in Laos is quite noisy but really interesting!
- Boun Visakhaphusa: The life, enlightenment and death of the Buddha are commemorated. The party lasts two days and coincides with the rocket festival.
July
- Boun Khao Phansa: It marks the beginning of the “Buddhist Lent” which lasts three months: from the full moon of July to the full moon of October. All the monks stop traveling and stay at the temple to pray and meditate, another favorable moment to become part of the monastic order.
September
- Boun Haw Khao Padap Din: During this festival Lao people pay tribute to the deceased ancestors. The festival is marked by the macabre ceremony during which the previously buried bodies are exhumed, the remains are cleaned and then cremated in the full moon night.
- Boats racing festival in Luang Prabang: On the same day of the Boun Haw Khao Padap Din, a boat race on the Khan River and a fair of crafts and products from the countryside.
October
- Boun Awk Pansa: the end of “Buddhist Lent”. During the evening candles are lit in the temples and you can attend the beautiful ceremony of Lai Hua Fai, small boats made of banana leaves are decorated with flowers, candles and incense and let drift on the nearest river, taking away the bad luck. Very similar to the Loy Krathong festival that takes place in Thailand.
- Boat racing festival: held in small towns near a river like Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Savannakhet, competitions take place at the same time as Boun Awk Phansaa.
November
- Boun That Luang: Festival that takes place during the full moon week at the golden stupa That Luang in Vientiane. Hundreds of monks from all over the country gather to receive alms and flower offerings on the first day of the festival. In addition to religious celebrations you can find everything from beauty contests to fireworks, music and large candle processions.
December
- Laos National Day: celebrates the end of the monarchy (1975) and the beginning of democracy in the country. The streets are full of national flags, processions, parades and public speeches are delivered.
These are the main festivals in Laos that, as I said, are almost all based on the lunar calendar. So if you want to take part in any of these celebrations, it is better that you Google the dates or find it out on the Laos Official Tourism Website for the exact date that will be celebrated.
Have fun!
