THADINGYUT FULL MOON DAY / ABHIDHAMMA DAY / PAVARANA DAY

Thadingyut Full Moon Day or Thadingyut Festival is a festival of lights and the second most popular festival in Myanmar after Water Festival (Thingyan). Burmeses celebrate it for 3 days: the day before the full moon day, the full moon day and the day after the full moon day, generally in October. During the festival days, streets, houses and buildings are lighted up with candles, lanterns and coloured electric bulbs to welcome the Buddha’s descent from the Tavatimsa Heaven (တာဝတိံသာ) after he preached the Abhidhamma to his mother, Maya Devi, who was reborn in the Tavatimsa Heaven.

In some places, monks and devotes gather in a community hall and chant Abhidhamma together on this day. So, in Myanmar, this Thadingyut full moon day is also known as Abhidhamma Day.

Thadingyut full moon day is the last day of Vassavasa period. On this day every Theravada monks must come to the community of monks (Sangha) and atone for any offense he may have committed during Vassavasa period. This is called Pavarana (ပဝါရနာ ပြုသည်). After the Pavarana, the devotees offer requisites to each monks who participates in the Pavarana. So, in Myanmar, this Thadingyut full moon day is also known as Pavarana Day. Following the same practice, young people pay homage to elders during this periods and ask for forgiveness if they have committed any harm. This become one of the Burmese beautiful cultures.

Burmese believe that wedding during Vassavasa period is inappropriate. Therefore, weddings during the Vassavasa period are rare in Myanmar. After the Thadingyut full moon day weddings can be celebrated happily and auspiciously.