Myanmar New Year or Myanmar Water Festival. Myanmar Biggest or most celebrated festival. Millions of people flock to the street for festive activities. The true spirit of festival is to welcome the very new year with refreshing water pouring to each other during the hot weather. Water pouring stations with dancing stages where teams of young ladies compete in traditional Thingyan dance are everywhere in the cities where many people flock to be watered or watch the singing and dancing. Many places provide free food. Most famous festival food is sticky rice ball with sweet palm sugar stuffed inside. But some unlucky one will bite a red hot chilly instead. Providing hair wash, nail clipping and present with gifts to elderly are among the traditional activities.
A popular bed time story for kids is the King of Celestial realm (တာဝတိံသာ) will routinely visit the human realm on the new year day to check the good and bad deeds of people and mark down on his record. If good deed it will be recorded in the golden scroll but if it is a bad deed, it will be recorded in the scroll made of dog skin. A humorous way to encourage (or scare) kids to behave during new year.