Thadingyut Light Festival: Festival featured with religious events and MSME trade fair

The ceremony marking the successful completion of the third continuous Maha Pathana (Patthana) reciting ceremony, organized by the Yangon Region Government during the 2026 Buddhist Lent, was held Sunday evening at the North-West Corner Hti Taw Yon Prayer Hall on the platform of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon Region.

At the ceremony, the congregation led by Yangon Region Chief Minister U Aung Naing Thu observed the Five Precepts administered by the Presiding Sayadaw of the Yangon Region Sangha Nayaka Committee.

Offerings were then presented to the Sayadaws, and the congregation listened to the sermon before pouring water to share the merits gained from the donations with all beings. The continuous Maha Pathana reciting ceremony was held from 21 to 25 October.

Later, the ceremony to offer to the Shwedagon Pagoda with illuminated pagoda replicas and to light and offer 11,111 oil lamps collectively, organized by the Shwedagon Pagoda Board of Trustees, was held on the pagoda platform,  on Sunday evening, on the eve of the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut,.

Yangon Region Chief Minister U Aung Naing Thu, members of the Region Government, members of the Pagoda Board of Trustees and its office staff, religious associations, donors and pilgrims participated in the ceremony. Carrying Buddha images and illuminated pagoda replicas from the assembly point at the prayer hall housing ancient Buddha images, they circumambulated the Shwedagon Pagoda clockwise. They then lit oil lamps and made offerings at the lamp stands surrounding the pagoda platform.

The ceremony to offer the illuminated pagoda replicas was subsequently held at the Chan Thar Gyi prayer hall near the auspicious ground area at the Rahu Corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda platform.

The Buddha images and illuminated pagoda replicas will be displayed and illuminated for public veneration at the Chan Thar Gyi pavilion near the Aungmyay area at the North-West Corner for three days, from Octor 25 until 27 October.

Meanwhile, the 2026 Thadingyut MSME Trade Fair and Music Concert was bustling with shoppers on its second evening. Colourful hot-air balloons bearing various designs and large decorative balloons were launched Sunday evening, creating a festive atmosphere that attracted large crowds.

Visitors enjoyed watching the balloon launches, taking commemorative photographs against the decorative lights, and riding elephants for recreation. Many young people enthusiastically enjoyed performances by popular singers and DJ teams, singing and dancing along to the music.

The trade fair will run daily from the morning until 10 p.m. through 27 October. Donors have also been providing charity feast to the public in the morning, at midday and in the evening, it was reported.