A major battleground, Burma was devastated during the Second World War. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Baw Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. However, the battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting.
     Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese, some Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, also served in the British Burma Army. The Burma Independence Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942-1944, but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945.
     Following the World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Burma as a unified state. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals backed by the British assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.
     On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, it did not become a member of the Commonwealth. Independence Day is a national holiday marked by sport activities and fairs in most Burmese cities.

     During this day, various talks and development programs are laid down, discussed, and revealed for the improvement of the peasant sector which is the country's flagship economy.
     The peasant sector occupies around 70 percent of Myanmar's population and undoubtedly the most productive workforce in the country. Because of this, Myanmar recognizes the powerful role of farmers in driving the country's economic output. However, it is the farming sector which usually suffers whenever a power struggle happens in the country because rebels usually flew to the jungles of Myanmar to avoid prosecution and seek protection.
     The country has long been wanting to transform its country into a developed nation with plans of improving the industrial sector of the society, however, inadequate funding, corruption, and political instability halts the region from realizing its truest potential.
     The entire peasantry before 1965 experienced usury and inappropriate use of agricultural land. Farming lands were rented and many of the farmers cannot keep up with the rising cost of land rent. During this time, laws were passed to protect the farmers against this practice and led to massive land reformation and among them is the passing of protecting farmers against land renting. These acts were all made under the military administration of Ne Win and continue until today. Most of monumental reformation happened during Ne Win's term and continued until his resignation on 1988 after a popular uprising.
     Today, Myanmar still focuses on the development of new technologies and laws to protect farmers from unfair land treatment and support their various causes as the whole country's economy depends heavily on this sector.
     During the holiday, Myanmar's local leaders organize talks about reforms in peasantry around the country and present issues that challenges the development of the agricultural field. Since this is a national holiday, public companies are closed while some private companies may remain open.
     Families and individuals may choose to remain inside home or visit the local parks, pagodas and temples in the area. Also, trade and cultural shows organized around the country showcasing traditional crafts, culture, and arts.

     In Burma, called the Full Moon of Tabaung' or Tabottwal Full Moon Day is a traditional merit-making day for Buddhists. Tabottwal is the month before last month of the year in the traditional Burmese calendar. The country's largest pagoda festival, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival, begins during the new moon of the month of Tabottwal in the traditional Burmese calendar and continues until the full moon. The festival begins with a nakyake shitsu ceremony for offerings to the 28 Buddhas (from Taningara to Gautama), followed by a 10-day, nonstop recital of the Pathana, Buddhist scriptures on the 24 causes of worldly phenomena. Other pagoda festivals are held on this day, including the Shwe Settaw Pagoda Festival in Magwe Region's Minbu Township and the Alaungdaw Kathapa Pagoda Festival, near the Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park in Sagaing Region. The Full Moon of Tabaung also coincides with the Pa-O National Day, traditionally set on the day of King Suriyachanda's birth.

     Aung San, an outspoken student leader, continued the fight for Burma's independence. He was eventually arrested, but he escaped to China, where he collaborated with the Japanese. The Japanese promised San that if he helped to overthrow the British, they would make Burma an independent nation. San helped the Japanese oust the British, and the Japanese ruled Burma from 1942 until 1945. By then it had become clear to San that the Japanese had no intention of handing Burma back to its people. On March 27, 1945, he helped the World War II Allied forces remove the Japanese from power.
     Today, Myanmar celebrates Armed Forces Day on March 27 to commemorate the day that Aung San rebelled against the Japanese. The day is celebrated with a military parade and fireworks. Since 1989, the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military, has made it a tradition to pardon several prisoners on Armed Forces Day.

     The eve of Thingyan, the first day of the festival called a-kyo nei is the start of a variety of religious activities. Buddhists are expected to observe the Eight Precepts, more than the basic Five Precepts, including having only one meal before noon. Thingyan is a time when uposatha observance days, similar to the Christian sabbath, are held. Alms and offerings are laid before monks in their monasteries and offerings of a green coconut with its stalk intact encircled by bunches of green bananas (nga pyaw pwe oun pwe) and sprigs of thabyay before the Buddha images over which scented water is poured in a ceremonial washing from the head down. In ancient times Burmese kings had a hairwashing ceremony with clear pristine water from Gaungsay Kyun (lit. Headwash Island), a small rocky outcrop of an island in the Gulf of Martaban near Mawlamyaing.
     By nightfall, the real fun begins with music, song and dance, merrymaking and general gaiety in anticipation of the water festival. In every neighbor-hood pavilions or stages, with festive names and made from bamboo, wood and beautifully decorated papier mache, have sprung up overnight. Local belles have been rehearsing for weeks and even years, in the run-up to the great event in song and dance in chorus lines, each band of girls uniformly dressed in colourful tops and skirts and garlanded in flowers and tinsel. They wear fragrant thanaka - a paste of the ground bark of Murraya paniculata which acts as both sunblock and astringent - on their faces, and sweet-scented yellow padauk blossoms in their hair. The padauk (Pterocarpus macrocarpus) blooms but one day each year during Thingyan and is popularly known as the "Thingyan flower". Large crowds of revellers, on foot, bicycles and motorbikes, and in open top jeeps and trucks, will do the rounds of all the mandat, some making their own music and most of the womenfolk wearing thanaka and padauk. Floats, gaily decorated and lit up, also with festive names and carrying an orchestra as well as dozens of amorous young men on each of them, will roam the streets stopping at every mandat exchanging songs specially written for the festival including the Thingyan classics that everyone knows, and performing than gyat (similar to rapping but one man leads and the rest bellows at the top of their voices making fun of and criticising whatever is wrong in the country today such as fashion, consumerism, runaway inflation, crime, drugs, AIDS, corruption, inept politicians etc.). It is indeed a time for letting go, a major safety valve for stress and simmering discontent. There will be the usual spate of accidents and incidents from drink driving or just reckless driving in crowded streets full of revellers and all manner of vehicles, as well as drunkenness, arguments and brawling which the authorities have to be prepared for at this time of the year. Generally however friendliness and goodwill prevail along with some boisterous jollity.
     The next day called a-kya nei is when Thingyan truly arrives as Thagyamin makes his descent from his celestial abode to earth. At a given signal, a cannon (Thingyan a-hmyauk) is fired and people come out with pots of water and sprigs of thabyay, then pour the water onto the ground with a prayer. A prophesy for the new year (Thingyan sar) will have been announced by the brahmins (ponna) and this is based on what animal Thagya Min will be riding on his way down and what he might carry in his hand. Children will be told that if they have been good Thagya Min will take their names down in a golden book but if they have been naughty their names will go into a dog book!
     Serious water throwing does not begin until a-kya nei in most of the country although there are exceptions to the rule. Traditionally, Thingyan involved the sprinkling of scented water in a silver bowl using sprigs of thabyay, a practice that continues to be prevalent in rural areas. The sprinkling of water was intended to metaphorically "wash away" one's sins of the previous year. In major cities such as Yangon, garden hoses, huge syringes made of bamboo, brass or plastic, water pistols and other devices from which water can be squirted are used in addition to the gentler bowls and cups, but water balloons and even fire hoses have been employed! It is the hottest time of the year and a good dousing is welcomed by most. Everyone is fair game except monks and obviously pregnant women. Some overenthusiastic young lads may get captured by women, who often are their main target, and become kids of a practical joke with soot from cooking pots smeared on their faces. Maidens from mandats with dozens of garden hoses exchange hundreds of gallons of water with throngs of revellers and one float after another. Many revellers carry towels to block the jet of water getting into the ear and for modesty's sake as they get thoroughly soaked and drenched in their light summer clothes. The odd prankster might use ice water and a drive-by splash with this would provoke shrieks of surprise followed by laughs from its victims. Pwe (performances) by puppeteers, orchestras, dance troupes, comedians, film stars and singers including modern pop groups are commonplace during this festival.
     During the Water Festival, the Myanmar government relaxes the restrictions on gatherings. In the former capital, Yangon, the government permits crowds to gather on the Kadawgyi Pet and Kabaraye Roads. Temporary water-spraying stations, known as pandals are set up, and double as dance floors. Many of these pavilions are sponsored by rich and powerful families and businesses.
     The third day is called a-kyat nei and there may be two of them, an extra day in certain years. The fourth is known as a-tet nei when Thagya Min returns to the heavens, the last day of the water festival. Some would throw water at people late into the day making an excuse such as "Thagyer Min left his pipe and has come back for it"! Over the long festive holiday, a time-honoured tradition is mont lone yeibaw, glutinous rice balls with palm sugar inside thrown into boiling water in a huge wok and served as soon as they resurface which gave it the name. All the young men and women help in making it and all are welcome, but watch out for some prankster putting a birdseye chilli inside instead of palm sugar for a laugh! Mont let saung is another refreshing Thingyan snack, bits of sticky rice with toasted sesame in palm sugar and coconut milk. They are both served with grated coconut. In major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, Rakhine Thingyan can also be experienced as Rakhine residents of the city celebrate in their own tradition. Water is scooped from a long boat (laung hlay) to throw at revellers and Rakhine mohinga is served.
     The next day is New Year's Day (hnit san ta yet nei). It is a time for people to visit the elders and pay obeisance by gadawt (also called shikhoe) with a traditional offering of water in a terracotta pot and shampoo. Young people perform hair washing for the elderly often in the traditional manner with shampoo beans and bark. Many make new-year resolutions, generally in the mending of ways and doing meritorious deeds for their karma. Releasing fish (ngar hlut pwè) is another time-honoured tradition on this day; fish are rescued from lakes and rivers drying up under the hot sun, then kept in huge glazed earthen pots and jars before releasing into larger lakes and rivers with a prayer and a wish saying "I release you once, you release me ten times". Thingyan is also a favorite time for shinpyu, novitiation ceremonies for boys in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism when they will join the monks (Sangha) and spend a short time, perhaps longer, in a monastery immersed in the teachings of the Buddha, the Dhamma. It is akin to rites of passage or coming of age ceremonies in other religions.
     On the New Year's Day, people make food donations called satuditha at various places. They typically provide free food to those participating in the new-year's celebrations.

     After deciding at the fourth conference of the Do-Bamar Asiayone headquarters in Mawlamyine in 1939 to commemorate May Day annually on May 1st across the whole country and to demand that the government designate that day as a day when work is stopped, in the years 1939 and 1941, Do-Bamar Asiayone branches formed and in cities and regions where there were industrial workers people's assemblies were held to annually commemorate workers' May Day. At that time, Thakin Aung San became the general secretary of the Do-Bamar Asiayone central office.

     In Waso Buddhist monks are not allowed to make a journey lasting a night or longer and they have to stay at their monasteries. These days are kept as Lenten days. Buddhist Lent begins on the full moon day of Waso, the fourth month of the Myanmar calendar and ends on the full moon day of Thadingyut, the seventh month of the Myanmar calendar. It lasts for 3 months.
     The incident took place in the Buddha's lifetime. A group of monks set out on a journey to pay their respects to the Buddha's lifetime. A group of monks set out on a journey to pay their respects to the Buddha. Unfortunately, the time they had chosen for their travel was the rainy season-the time for doing agricultural works such as ploughing, seeding, and transplanting in order to grow crops. The ploughing begins in Waso, the fourth month. The crops and paddy stalks grow fully in Wagoung, the fifth month and in Tawthalin, the sixth month.
     In those days-the monks walked across cultivated fields, spoiling the crops and insects unintentionally. As a result, the Lord passed a law to be followed by monks: that no monk shall make a journey lasting a night or longer during the three monks of the monsoon rains. That rains retreat (monsoon-retreat) is the Buddhist Lent.
     Monks make good use to the restriction by devoting more time and energy to the propagation of the Buddha's teachings and the practice, that is, meditation, of the doctrine during that period. Laymen and laywomen try to gain merit through offering robes, alms and other essentials to the Sangha, it was a special donation to the monks during the Lent of absolute devotion to meditation. This annual occasion is called "Waso-pwe", occasion of offering essential to the Sangha, or "Waso-thingan-katlupwe", occasion of offering robes to the Sangha.
     From this time on, Buddhist spend the three months of Lent by not drinking alcohol, making donation ceremonies, reciting the Buddhist chant, keeping precepts and practicing meditation. Moreover, marriage and changing of abode during the period are frowned upon.

     Myoma U Than Kywe led the ceremony of the First Burmese Martyrs' Day on July 20, 1947 in Rangoon. On July 19, 1947, at approximately 10:37 a.m., BST, several of Burma's independence leaders were gunned down by a group of armed men in uniform while they were holding a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat in downtown Yangon. The assassinations were planned by a rival political group, and the leader and alleged mastermind of that group Galon U Saw, together with the perpetrators, were tried and convicted by a special tribunal presided by Kyaw Myint with two other Barristers-at-law, Aung Thar Gyaw and Si Bu. In a judgment given on 30 December 1947 the tribunal sentenced U Saw and a few others to death and the rest were given prison sentences. Appeals to the High Court of Burma by U Saw and his accomplices were rejected on 8 March 1948. In a judgment written by Supreme Court Justice E Maung (1898-1977) on 27 April 1948 the Supreme Court refused leave to appeal against the original judgment. (All the judgments of the tribunal, the High Court and the Supreme Court were written in English. The judgment of the tribunal can be read in "A Trial in Burma" by Dr Maung Maung (Martinus Njhoff, 1963) and the judgment of the High Court and Supreme Court can be read in the 1948 Burma Law Reports.)
     The President of Burma Sao Shwe Thaik refused to pardon or commute the sentences of most of those who were sentenced to death, and U Saw was hanged inside Rangoon's Insein jail on 8 May 1948. A number of perpetrators met the same fate. Others, who had played relatively minor roles and were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, also spent several years in prison.

The assassinated were:

     1. Aung San, Prime Minister
     2. Ba Cho, Minister of Information
     3. Mahn Ba Khaing, Minister of Industry
     4. Ba Win, Minister of Trade
     5. Thakin Mya, Minister of Home Affairs
     6. Abdul Razak, Minister of Education and National Planning
     7. Sao San Tun, Minister of Hills Regions
     8. Ohn Maung, Deputy Minister of Transport
     9. Ko Htwe, Bodyguard of Razak

     Tin Tut, Minister of Finance, was seriously wounded but survived. Many Burmese believe that the British had a hand in the assassination plot one way or another; two British officers were also arrested at the time and one of them charged and convicted for supplying an agent of U Saw with arms and munitions enough to equip a small army, a large part of which was recovered from a lake next to U Saw's house in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
     Soon after the assassinations, Sir Hubert Rance, the British governor of Burma appointed U Nu to head an interim administration and when Burma became independent on 4 January 1948, Nu became the first Prime Minister of independent Burma. July 19 was designated a public holiday and to be known as Martyr's Day.

     Thadingyut, the seventh month of the Myanmar calendar, is the end of the Buddhist lent or Vassa. Thadingyut festival last for three days: the day before the full moon day, the full moon day and the day after the full moon day. Buddha descends from heaven on the full moon day itself. Buddha's mother, Maya, died seven days after the Buddha was born and then she was reborn in the Trayastrimsa Heaven. In order to pay back the gratitude to his mother, Buddha preached Abhidhamma to his mother for three Lenten months. When he was descending back to the mortal world, Sakra-devanam-indra, the ruler of the Trayastrimsa Heaven, ordered all the saints and evils to make three precious stairways. Those stairways were made of gold, silver and ruby. The Buddha took the middle one with the ruby. The Nats (Deva) came along by the right golden stairways and the Brahmas from the left silver stairways. Buddhists celebrate Thadingyut to welcome the Buddha and his disciples by enlightening and festooning the streets, houses and public buildings with colored electric bulbs or candles, which represent those three stairways.
     During Thadingyut Festival, there are Zat Pwes (Myanmar musical plays), free movie shows and stage shows on most of the streets around the country. There are also a lot of food-stalls, which sell a variety of Myanmar traditional foods and shops, which sell toys, kitchen utensils and other useful stuffs on most of the streets. Sometime people just walk around in those streets just for sightseeing and have fun. Some people like to play with fire crackers and fire balloons. During the festival days, Buddhists usually go to pagodas and monasteries to pay respect to the monks and offer foods. And some Buddhists usually fast on the full moon day. Young people usually pay respect to their parents, teachers and elderly relative and offer them some fruits and other gifts. In return, the elder ones wish good luck for them and give them some pocket money.

     Robe-weaving competitions to weave special yellow monk robes called matho thingan are also held throughout the country, most notably in Yangon's Shwedagon Pagoda. During these competitions, held for two consecutive nights (the night preceding and the night of the full moon), contestants work nonstop from night until dawn to weave these garments. The tradition commemorates a widely known story of the Buddha's life. Seeing that the Buddha would soon renunciate, the Buddha's mother, Maya, who had been reborn in the Tavatimsa heaven, spent the entire night weaving yellow monk robes for him. Her sister Gotami (Buddha's aunt) continued this tradition and offered new robes annually.
     In Shan State, particularly in Taunggyi, hot air balloons lit with candles, are released to celebrate the full moon day, similar to Yi Peng celebrations in Northern Thailand. The balloons are released as an offering to the Sulamani cetiya in Tavitisma, a heaven in Buddhist cosmology and home of the devas, or as a way to drive away evil spirits, although the origins of the tradition date back to 1894, when the British first held hot air balloon competitions in Taunggyi, soon after the annexation of Upper Burma. In recent years, these traditions have also been transported to other parts of the country, including Naypyidaw, which holds an annual government-sponsored celebration, and Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo).
     Almsgiving and charity, both religious and secular, including satuditha feasts are also commonly undertaken during this festival, as a means of merit-making. Others return home to pay homage to elders (gadaw) and visit pagodas. Many concerts and other secular festivities, such as live performances of traditional dramas like the Yama Zatdaw, are also held between Thadingyut (the end of the Buddhist lent) and Tazaungdaing.
     In pre-colonial times, the Burmese court worshipped 15 Hindu deities on the full moon day. On the eighth waning day of that month, after a procession to the king, 8 pyatthat structures made of bamboo were burned.
     On this night, young men celebrate a custom called "kyimano pwe" ("crow doesn't wake"), by practicing mischief on their neighbors, by stealing or playing tricks on them.

     Before there was Myanmar, there was Burma. Burma was conquered by the British in 1824, and it remained in full British control until around 1886 when a majority of the country fell under British India and was ruled as a province.
     Growing anti-British sentiment by the Buddhist and student communities increasingly caused friction for British India. In 1919, Buddhist monks of the Eindawya Pagoda in Mandalay tried to physically evict Europeans that refused to respect local custom and remove their shoes before entering the pagoda. In a controversial move by the British, the leader of those monks was sentenced to life in prison for attempted murder.
     On December 5, 1920, tempers flared when Rangoon University students protested against new government regulations made by the British. News of the protests spread throughout the land, and many more schools held protests of their own. This day is considered the source of National Day in Myanmar, a day that marks the real beginning of mass protests against British control. However, it wasn’t until January 4, 1948 that Burma gained its independence from Britain.
     It's worth noting a few things about this particular holiday. First, Myanmar's National Day is the only non-religious public holiday celebrated. Second, the actual date of this holiday changes every year. The actual date of celebration is determined by the Myanmar lunar calendar, and it falls on the tenth day after the full moon in the month of Tazaungmon. (Tazaungmon roughly falls between October and November.)
     Finally, it should be noted that today Myanmar is politically in nearly identical chaos to that of early British colonial times. While National Day typically celebrates the start of protests in 1920 against the British occupation, today National Day is frequently marked by protests against the current ruling military junta. Buddhist monks, students, and even the international community turn out to the protests with cries for revolution anew.

     In fact, the movement for a distinct Karen national day was begun by Saya San Baw, in 1935. As member of parliament for Tharyawati District, he argued that a Karen National Day should be introduced. However, the British colonial administration suggested that a Karen New Year day would be a better alternative. In 1937, the Karen parliamentary representatives again presented the case for a Karen National Da, again unsuccessfully.
     The Karen National Association (KNA) realized that they instead had to work towards the Karen New Year day. On 2 August 1937, Saw Johnson Deepominn, member of parliament for Taungoo District, presented the case to the lower house. However the Karen representatives in the chamber were split in their support across the two sides of parliament? U Pu's governing faction, and the opposition lead by Dr. Ba Maw. As the demands were coming from a member of U Pu's side (Johnson Deepominn was an assistant minister), those supporting Ba Maw opposed the legislation. It failed to be ratified.
     Soon after, Dr. Ba Maw's group formed a coalition, allowing it to seize power. The proposal seemed to be left with no chance of getting past the lower house. Members of the upper house, lead by Saya San Baw, Sir San C. Po and Saya Mahn Shwe Ba, discussed the matter together. They lobbied for, and gained the support of, some among the new Karen ministers. The demand was retabled, and passed.
      Ba Maw's cabinet ratified the proposal, and presented it to the Governor General for approval. In late 1937, the Governor General signed the legislation. The first day of Pyathoe, 1938 (Karen Year 2677), was declared the first Karen New Year.
     Initially, the Karen leaders had been divided over the best day for the New Year to fall on. Three alternatives were put forward.

     1. The same day as the Roman calendar.
     2. The date when (the missionary) Dr. Judson first arrived in Burma.
     3. The first day of Pyathoe.

     The options were discussed and the matter resolved. The first alternative has global significance, and it was felt that a distinctive date for the Karen New Year would be more appropriate. As for the second alternative, Dr. Judson was a Christian missionary, so this date would be suitable for Christians, but not Karens of other religions. The first day of Pyathoe was best.
     Additionally the month of Pyathoe is special for Karen cultural solidarity, given the following reasons:

     1. Although Karens have different names for Pyathoe (Sgaw Karens call it Th'lay and for Pwo Karens, Htike Kauk Po) the first of each of these months falls on exactly the same date.
     2. The rice harvest is completed in the period leading to Pyathoe, and according to Karen traditional religious practice, there must be a celebration for consumption of the new crop. It is also the time to divine the date for commencement of the next crop. Typically, this is also when new houses are constructed, and the completion of these must be celebrated.
     3. The first of Pyathoe is not a distinct festival for any religious group, so it is a day that is acceptable to all Karen people. For these reasons, on the first of Pyathoe annually, we celebrate the Karen New Year.