Every year, deep in the Burmese jungle, in the Shan state, in the bustling city of Tuanggyi, something magical happens…

On the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, or the 10th of November in the Gregorian calendar, the sky around Tuanggyi, the capital of Shan state, is dotted with fiery lights: this is the ancient Tuangyii/Tazuangdaing festival. Every year thousands of people come and celebrate the end of the rainy season in Tuanggyi, a city in Myanmar.

The Shan, the ethnic group who inhabit Shan state, were in a constant struggle for independence before democracy and hundreds were killed in the fight against the Burmese military. The government banned the Shan language in schools and many parts of the territory became conflict zones. The Shan people and its traditions suffered greatly under Burmese military’s rule but the state’s most iconic festival survives to this day. Tuanggyi festival of light is a chance for the people of this blighted region of earth to have some fun, as well as an important religious event.

The festival is famous for its massive paper balloons, which have an envelope of Shan paper; this material is made with mulberry bark. Fireworks are attached to the balloons then are lit and the balloon starts to make its ascension. As you would imagine, there are sometimes explosions. What would you expect if the balloon is made from easily flammable material with small rockets on its outside? The balloon tradition was actually introduced by the British when Burma was under British rule.

The festival has its origins 100s of years ago, before Burma was converted to Buddhism, and it originally celebrated Hindu astrology. Nowadays, Buddhists believe that the bright lights would illuminate the earth and show the Buddha the way back to earth after his three months visiting his mother’s reincarnated spirit in Tushita heaven.

PHOTO CREDIT 1: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balloon_festival_-panoramio(1).jpg – NO CHANGES WERE MADE TO THIS IMAGE