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Wagaung is the fifth month according to the Burmese calendar that is August if one goes by the Gregorian calendar. The religious ceremony that takes place in the month of Wagaung is known as the Wagaung festival. A Buddhist nation Burma does boast of a number of festivals and celebrations that do have a peculiar Buddhist association. Wagaung festival is one of the popular Burmese celebrations with a historical significance attached to it.
This festival as is the case with most of the Burmese festivals, account for an interesting historical background. The incident dates back to the time of Lord Buddha when he was staying at a place called Weluwun Monastery in Yazagyo. At that very juncture some of his disciples complained him about the individual grants of alms and meals to the poor. Buddha solved the problem by introducing the method of collective grants or pool of grants, where each people will contribute something and then the whole lot will be distributed among the poor. This reduced the pressure on one particular individual and since then this particular event has been transformed into a celebration.
During the Burmese month of Wagaung with the onset of monsoon, the water level in the river rises. And to mark this trend that is considered positive, this festival of donating alms and meals to the monks is performed. The festival is observed in a religious fashion maintaining all the rites and rituals.
The Buddhist legends however, also indicate another mythological or historical incident regarding the celebration of Wagaung festival. According to them this festival can also be referred to as the Maha Dok festival. Maha Dok was a person who was very poor but with his offerings of meals and alms to Lord Buddha, Maha Dok became rich for ever. Since then these celebrations as a symbolic gesture for one’s moral and spiritual growth is followed. To accommodate huge group of people commemorating this day, huge tents are built and people pour their offerings in it.
Wagaung festival gives an opportunity to the people to usher their devotions to Buddha and also gives them the scope of doing charity for a good cause.
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