The Vixakha Bouxa festival is the Lao version of the Visakha Puja. It commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha. It is held around the months of May or Vesak. Celebrations include dances, poems, parades, processions, deep meditation, theaterical performances, and puppet shows. ... Birth is the process in animals by which an offspring is expelled from the body of its mother. ... For the concept in mysticism, philosophy and psychology, see Enlightenment (concept) For the Hindu religious concept of enlightenment, see moksha For the Buddhist religious concept, see Bodhi, Satori For the Yoga concept of enlightenment, see Yogic Enlightenment For the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding... In Western culture, skeletons are often the symbol of death. ... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... This article is about the month of May. ... Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... United States Marines on parade. ... A procession (M. Eng. ... Meditation usually refers to a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused. ... A puppet is any controlled character, whether formed by a shadow, strings, by the use of a glove, by direct mechanical contrivance (for example a cable-controlled figure for film or TV) or electronic guidance (such as a radio or infrared remote controller). ...

Boun Bang Fay

One part of the Vixakha Bouxa festival is called Boun Bang Fay, or the Festival of the Rockets. During this celebration, rockets are shot in to the sky in attempt to convince Buddha to send rain. Traditionally, monks made the rockets out of hollow bamboo tubes filled with gunpowder (among other things). Today many people make the rockets more like fireworks and hold competitions for the highest, fastest, and most colorful rockets. Several fireworks bursting Fireworks are classified as low explosive devices and form a distinct variety of pyrotechnics, whose definition also generally includes devices for military and industrial use. ... Rain falling For other uses see Rain (disambiguation). ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... Gunpowder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms, specifically either black powder or smokeless powder. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House illuminated under New Years Eve Fireworks 2005 A fireworks event (also called a fireworks display or fireworks show) is a spectacular display of the effects produced by firework devices on various occasions. ...