Tagu Festival

At the dawn of the New Year in the Myanmar calendar, with the intention of being prosperous, blessed, and avoiding danger and bad luck in the coming year, the Board of Trustees, along with the staff members of the pagoda and volunteers, lead a ceremony offering food, flowers, water, fruit and candlelight to the pagoda at the visitors’ pavilion. At the Yaung Taw Phwint pavilion, Ovadacariya Sayadaws and monks are offered food along with other offerings at dawn. They recite the Five Precepts of Buddhism and Paritta (Pali) chants to rejoice and receive merit at 6:30 a.m. in the pavilion of Ancient Buddha Images. In these ways, the New Year festival is celebrated at Shwedagon Pagoda.