Traditional festival of Mon ethnic people celebrated with enthusiastic crowds

A traditional festival of Mon ethnic people, featuring the offering ceremony of Sandy Pagoda was held in the precinct of Kyaikkhami Pagoda, Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, on 19 October, according to the festival organizing committee.
The festival is held to perpetuate Buddhism and pass on traditional culture to the new generations of Mon ethnic youth.
Mon ethnic people came near the Sandy Pagoda, as they did meritorious deeds near the pagoda.
“Buddhist monks were invited and religious matters were conducted including donations of flowers. Then we shared merits. The festival originated a thousand years ago. Sandy Pagoda Festivals are usually held from the 3rd to 5th Waxing of Thadingyut in every part of Mon State where there is a beach.
For those who cannot afford to use cement and bricks, a pagoda was built of sand and offered to the Buddha to be free from all sufferings. Mon ethnic people across Mon State occasionally visit the Kyaikkhami Pagoda where the festival is held. — ASH/KZL