Tabaung Full Moon Festival: A celebration of merit-making and tradition in Myanmar

On the full moon day of Tabaung, which falls on a Sunday, pagodas and temples across the country are crowded with Buddhist devotees, performing meritorious deeds and donating charity feasts.

Tabaung marks the last month in the Myanmar calendar, and according to myth, it is the day when King Ukkalapa finished the construction of the Shwedagon Pagoda and enshrined the sacred hair relics within it.

During this time, Buddhist people visit pagodas to make merits and enjoy the public holiday at recreation places. Another significant event on the full moon day is the tradition of sand pagodas.

Residents along the riverbanks pile up sand in the shape of a pagoda on the sandbanks. Buddhists believe that these pagodas symbolize the virtues of Buddha, and worshiping at any pagoda—whether made of bricks or sand—is no less beneficial than worshiping a living Buddha. This tradition is mainly observed in Mandalay and the upper regions of Myanmar.