Ananda Annual Festival named after the Ananda Temple – one of the most important and beautiful pagodas in Myanmar, took place in Bagan from January 12 to January 27.
During the festival, 1000 monks perform continuous chanting of scriptures for 72 hours. Thousands of villagers from the area come with their ox carts for this annual event to buy new clothes, furniture or kitchenware. On the morning of the full moon day, they offer gift bowls to the monks in attendance.
Vendors came from all over the country to sell their wares. Most families attending the festival were camping around the temple. With a progressing development of Myanmar, the festival is an amazing spectacle of tradition. Performances including traditional dances, marionettes shows, slapstick comedy (with actual slapsticks), singing and movie projections that started at around 9pm lasting all night long. The Ananda Temple, located in Bagan is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 AD during the reign (1084–1113) of King Kyanzittha of the Bagan Dynasty. It is one of four surviving temples in Bagan. The temple was damaged in the earthquake of 1975. However, it has been fully restored and is well maintained by frequent painting and whitewashing of the walls. On the occasion of 900th anniversary of its construction celebrated in 1990 the temple spires were also gilded. It is a highly revered temple of Bagan.
