[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Karen New Year Celebration (Decembe



Subject: Karen New Year Celebration (December 18, 1998)

Karen New Year Celebration (December 18, 1998)
***********************************************************

	The Kayin people (previously known as Karen people) celebrate their 2738th
New Year on December 18. According to the Kayin history, the years were
counted from the day when the first migrant tribe from Mongolia settled into
the land of Myanmar (Burma) as Kayin people. In Yangon city the capital of
Myanmar, the largest Kayin New Year Ceremony is celebrated at the Maha Say
Wingaba Ahlein Nga Sint Pagoda compound, in Insein township where majority of
Kayin population reside. The ceremony was organized  by the Kayin New Year
Celebration Central Committee, chaired by Prof. Saw Simon Tha, a Kayin
Neurosurgeon.

	The ceremony stated on the eve of Kayin New Year by entertaining people with
Kayin Cultural show, Kayin Done Dance, Kayin Bamboo Dance and traditional
Kayin music and songs. The Kayin National Flag hoisting Ceremony was held at
the dawn of New Year Day. About 3,000 Kayin people attended this ceremony to
pay respect to the Kayin National Flag. The flag hoisting ceremony was
followed by a Done Dance performed by one of the best Done troupes in the
Country, and the guests were served with the traditional steamed sticky rice.
A more formal program of New Year well wishing speeches started at &:00 AM.
The speeches by the chairman and the Kayin elders focused on preservation of
Kayin language, culture ad literature, Kayin national unity, and development.
After the speeches 69 Kayin students who had passed the Basic Education High
School (Pre-university Class) in 1998 with flying colors were honored by
giving them the certificates of honor and prizes.

	The celebration will go on until the evening of December 19. More dances,
Kayin costume fashion competition, and modern Kayin Music will be performed
throughout the ceremony. Kayin traditional and cultural possessions and other
materials on the history and literature are also displayed for the people to
study.

****************