Lao students in Hue happily celebrate traditional Bunpimay New Year

Performed by: Le Chung | April 14, 2024

(Fatherland) - The Bunpimay traditional New Year celebration for Lao students in Thua Thien Hue province was held to create a joyful and exciting atmosphere. It also motivated the students to study and strengthened the friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.

On the evening of April 13, in Hue City, Hue College and the Representative Board of Laotian Students in Hue organized a ceremony to celebrate the traditional New Year Bunpimay 2024 (Buddhist calendar 2567) for about 300 Laotian students living and studying in Thua Thien Hue province.

The traditional Bunpimay New Year of Laos usually takes place from April 13 to 16 every year. As usual, units in Thua Thien Hue organize a New Year celebration for Lao students to create a joyful and exciting atmosphere; to motivate them in their studies and to strengthen the friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.

Many students, tourists and Hue residents came to celebrate the traditional Bunpimay New Year with Lao students living, studying and working in the ancient capital.

Representatives of the Lao Consulate General in Da Nang City attended and presented congratulatory flowers.

The program opened with special performances by Lao students studying abroad.

Everyone learned about traditional Lao costumes through the fashion show.

The traditional beauty of Sinh - Salong costumes of Lao girls and boys

Next, the traditional rituals of Bunpimay New Year were held solemnly and warmly.

Introducing the history of the traditional Bunpimay New Year, Ms. Baelavanh Thongthit, Head of the Laotian Student Representative Board in Hue, said that the festival is meant to bring prosperity to all things, happiness, and purify people's lives. On New Year's Day, people often splash water on each other to pray for luck and blessings for the whole year.

"Bunpimay Festival usually lasts for three days. On the day of the festival, people prepare scented water and flowers. On the afternoon of the first day, people gather at the temple to worship Buddha, pray, and listen to monks preach. People go to the temple to pray for health and happiness for the whole year. After that, the Buddha statue will be taken to a separate room for three days and opened so that people can bathe the Buddha. The scented water, after being sprinkled on the Buddha statues, will be collected and brought home to be applied to people to make merit," Ms. Baelavanh Thongthit shared.

Lao students are radiant and happy on the traditional Bunpimay New Year.

A large flower stand is placed in the middle of the stage and small threads are attached to the branches of the flower stand.

Everyone present sat around to pray for luck, then tied threads around each other to wish each other health, luck and success.

Tying a thread around the wrist on Bunpimay Day is a unique cultural feature of Lao culture; it symbolizes well-being, prosperity, health and luck.

The water-splashing ritual is to wash away the fatigue and sadness of the old year, and to pray for life to flourish, prosperity and happiness for all things in the new year.

After the ceremony, everyone joined in the Lam Vong dance, enjoying traditional Lao culture.

It is known that in Thua Thien Hue province, implementing the program of training Lao students, up to now, universities and colleges in the area have trained thousands of Lao students. Every year, Thua Thien Hue province also provides scholarships to Salavan, Sekong, Champasak, Khammuon, Savannakhet provinces of Laos to train Vietnamese language and continue studying majors in college and university.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/luu-hoc-sinh-lao-tai-hue-han-hoan-don-tet-co-truyen-bunpimay-20240413235348565.htm