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Pi Mai Lao!

This is the Lao New year (also celebrated in Thailand as Songkhran) and takes place between the 13th and 15th April on the Western calendar. The festival coincides with the end of the dry season and the start of the rains. It is seen as a day of rebirth and purification. The festival lasts for three days and is usually celebrated during the full moon or close to it.

The first of the three days is the last day of the old year and houses and villages are cleaned in readiness for the new year. The second day of the festival is the "day of no day," a day which falls neither in the old year nor the new year. It is a day of rest. The third and last day of the festival marks the magnificent New Year and is celebrated with water which is used for washing homes, Buddha images, monks, and soaking friends and passers-by. Students first respectfully pour water on their elders, then monks for blessings of long life and peace, and last of all they throw water over each other. The water is perfumed with flowers or natural perfumes.

Lan Sang's Lao chefs will celebrate Pi Mai by creating a traditional Lao menu for you which will be available through the second half of April. Come and celebrate Pi Mai with us from 15th April. Just watch out for the water!