PILGRIMS from all over the country, including foreign tourists, flock to the Ananda Temple Buddha Pujaniya Festival in the Bagan cultural zone, held annually on the full moon of Pyatho.
The 934th Buddha Puja Festival at Ananda Temple is held on the day before the full moon, on the full moon day, and on the first waning day. There are 120 stalls selling agricultural products, agricultural machinery, Bagan products, food, fishery products, and clothing, and the event is crowded with pilgrims.
“During the Ananda Temple Festival, the recitation of the Maha Pathana treatise and the offering of rice to 250 members of the Sangha take place on the full moon day of Pyatho, with donors from all over the country participating. This is a cultural heritage that has been celebrated without interruption from ancient times to the present, and we will continue to preserve it,” said U Zaw Win Cho, chairman of the Ananda Temple Board of Trustees.
According to locals, foreign tourists are often particularly interested in learning about the region’s traditions, where pilgrims arrive by bullock-cart during the Ananda Temple Festival.
Festivals are held annually at 18 famous pagodas in the Bagan region, with the Ananda Temple Festival being the most prominent. It is especially crowded with pilgrims from all over the country on the full moon day of Pyatho. Last year, more than 40,000 pilgrims visited the festival. — Nyein Thu (MNA)/TH
