Laos calls its April New Year water festival Pi Mai.
Lao New Year, commonly known as Pi Mai or Pi Mai Lao, is celebrated in April and shares regional customs with Thailand’s Songkran. Water is used symbolically for cleansing, blessing, and renewal. People may wash Buddha images, visit temples, build sand stupas, make offerings, and respectfully tie white strings around wrists during ceremonies.
The Lao celebration is not simply a copy of Thailand’s festival. It has its own names, local customs, religious practices, and regional variations. In Luang Prabang, for example, traditional processions and cultural ceremonies form an important part of the holiday.
The word pi means year in Lao, so Pi Mai refers to the New Year. A common mistake is calling every Southeast Asian April water festival Songkran. Songkran is the Thai name; Laos uses Pi Mai, while Cambodia and Myanmar have their own traditional names for related New Year celebrations.