Boun Ok Phansa: “End of Buddhist Lent Festival”. It marks the end of the monks’ three-month-fast and retreat during the rainy season. At dawn, donations and offerings are made at the temples. Prayers are chanted by the monks, and at dusk candlelight processions wind round the temples. Concurrently, hundreds of decorated candlelit-floats, made of paper, are set a drift in the rivers. These carry offerings and incense, transforming the river into a fragrant snake of sparkling. This ceremonial part is called Boun Lay Heua Fai. In Luang Prabang, this festival is also celebrated on this day.
The biggest event of the “Ok Phansa festival” is the boat racing festival or called in Lao “Boun Souang Heua” on the Mekong river between competing communities in Vientiane Capital.
