On 31 March 2017 Myanmar Cultural Day was held by the Myanmar Student Union to provide MFU students with the opportunity to fully submerge themselves in Myanmar culture at the Queen Sirikit 72nd Jubilee Sport Arena.
This year, Myanmar Cultural Day was held under the theme “Lighting Festival and Cultural Variety Concert”.The Thadingyut Festival or festival of lights is a celebration to welcome the Buddha’s descent from the heaven after he preached the Abhidhamma to his mother, Maya, who was reborn in the heaven.
In his welcoming speech, MFU President Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vanchai Sirichana stated that Myanmar students are some the best international students at MFU. Moreover, this ceremony showed the unity and collaborative character of the Myanmar students and lecturers as they initiated and organized the event. The President also encouraged participants to join in the celebration of Myanmar’s culture and traditions during the festivities.
Consul-General of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Chiang Mai Mr. Kuang San Lwin said that Myanmar and Thailand are close neighbours which share similar cultures and have worked together for many years to form a true friendship with mutual understanding for cooperation. Through this sincere and strong friendship, Mae Fah Luang University also has a long-standing relationship with Myanmar especially in terms of academic collaboration. MFU offers many scholarships for Myanmar students and has assisted many Myanmar students in becoming outstanding graduates.
At the event, the Myanmar Student Union provided Myanmar traditional dishes and desserts including Htawbat Htamin (clarified butter rice), Laphet Thoke (pickled tea salad), Mont Let Saung (rice drops with coconut milk), Sa Nwin Ma Kin (semolina cake) for all participants.
There was also a presentation of certificates to recognize six Myanmar students who have high GPA averages. Also, Myanmar students and the Myanmar Ethnic and Cultural Organization presented cultural performances that told the story of the Myanmar people and their ethnic groups. They gave performances such as the “Time Yin Thar”, “Thingyan”, “Wa traditional dance” and “Myanmar Pyi Thar.” In addition, there was a special traditional performance from Myanmar students which showed the way young people pay respect to the elders during the Thadingyut celebration.
In the exhibition section, Myanmar students explained general information about Myanmar to participants. The information pertained to Myanmar ethnic groups and interesting religious places, festivals and dishes.
On the whole, Thai students and students from various countries learned about what Myanmar people eat, how they dress and how they celebrate the festival of lights. The event helped students learn about and understand Myanmar’s beautiful culture and amazing ways of life.
