Myanmar: Washing Buddha’s Face The daily ritual washing of the Buddha's visage or face takes place at 4:30 in the morning, at the most revered pagoda in Mandalay just three kilometers south of the city centre. The Mahamuni Pagoda is held out as a sacred pilgrimage site, second only to the holy Golden Rock of Myanmar near Yangon.
Philippines: Sinulog Festival On the feast day of the Santo Nino (Holy Child) or Child Jesus, a Pontificial Mass is celebrated by the Cardinal with the Bishops of Cebu, attracting hundreds to the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino in Cebu City before the start of the Sinulog parade. Historical chronicles record that the natives of Cebu had long performed tribute dances for their anitos - the wooden idols of their indigenous worship.
Singapore: Legend of the Oriental Dragon The Oriental Dragon, revered as a deeply potent and auspicious symbol, is depicted in Chinese culture as wielding dominion over the weather, rainfall and moving bodies of water (sea, waterfalls, rivers and lakes). The Chinese four Dragon Kings represented the four seas, and could manifest themselves in different shapes including water twisters. Many water-related sacrifices, ceremonies and rites were performed paying homage to this mythical harbinger of rainfall, of which the vigorous dragon boat race was one such festivity.
Thailand: Loy Krathong – Festival of lights Celebrated on the full moon of the 12th lunar month (usually November), the festival is one of the best known Thai celebrations in the world. Picturesque banana-leaf floats, ornately decked with flowers and variously shaped as lotuses, swans, zodiac signs or stupas (pagoda-haped structures), are lighted with candles and incense sticks, then set adrift on water in rivers, canals and ponds. Said to have evolved from court rituals, the loy krathong (‘loy' meaning ‘to float' and ‘krathong' is in reference to the floated vessel or boat) ritual bears varying accounts of its origins.
Viet Nam: Firecracker Festival Certain agricultural communities in Viet Nam carry out rain rituals for prompt and sufficient rainfall for bountiful crops. The famous Firecracker Festival of the Dong Ky village northeast of Hanoi, Viet Nam, for instance, is said to simulate the sounds of thunder claps, heralding the good fortune of oncoming rains for the farming village.
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