Laos By: ZouaPa, Emily, and Macy http://www.mapsofworld.com/laos/maps/laos-map.jpgy
Celebrations/Festivals Have you ever wanted to go to Laos? Maybe after this presentation you will want to go just so you can see some of their celebrations. Laos has a number of public holidays each year. One of their many celebrations is the Boun Pimai. There is also one celebration that is invite-only; it is called the Baci Festival. In all, Laos has many fun, and exciting celebrations each year. http://news.searchcheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ThatLuangFestival.jpg
Laos has 15 public holidays that are celebrated each year. One festival is in July, marking the beginning of Buddhist Lent. October has 2 festivals, one of them marks the end of 3-month Buddhist Lent. There is 1 festival in March that is held in local temples and is called the Harvest Festival. They have 3 festivals in January, 1 in February, 2 in March, 1 in April,2 in May, 1 in June, 1 in July, 1 in August, 2 in October, and 1 in December. It turns out, Laos has many public holidays that are similar to the U.S. http://laovoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Almsgiving-in-Luang-Prabang.jpg
Laos has many important holidays, and one is the Boun Pimai. The Boun Pimai celebrates the New Year, and is held in April. The new actually starts in December, but they celebrate in April because the days are longer. At that festival, people that attend are sprayed with water and buckets of waterare dumped on them. Also, traditional statues of Buddha are ceremonially doused in water. It is celebrated with traditional Lao folk, singing, circle dancing, and is usually a 3-day holiday. Thus, Boun Pimai is a hugely celebrated holiday in Laos. http://static.asiawebdirect.com/m/bangkok/portals/visit-mekongcom/laos/homepage/festivals/allParagraphs/00/scaledImage/image.jpg
There is one celebration that can be held at any time, it is called the Baci Festival. The Baci Festival is held for the birth of the baby, a new mother, someone who just recovered from an injury/illness, someone about to leave on a long journey, or someone just returning. At the Baci Festival the guests enter, and sit in a circle around a small shrine. Foods such as boiled chicken, eggs, and cakes ring the centerpiece. They even tie cotton threads around the guests’ wrists to symbolize the uniting of the souls of the body. Generally speaking, the Baci Festival is a wondrous festival to attend. http://www.southeastasiabackpacker.com/wpsite/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/White-bracelets-around-wrist-
for-traditional-Laos-ceremony.jpgal
Laos is a very good place to visit for many occasions. They have many, fun, public holidays that are fun to attend. The Boun Pimai is a very important holiday that a lot of people go to. Laos, also, has a festival called the Baci Festival that is private and invite-only. In conclusion, Laos’ celebrations are a huge part of their culture. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UugtgzrPeRs/TakzppqSmLI/AAAAAAAAAB4/xYqAqrJhvKQ/s1600/pii+mai.jpgof
Sports/Games Have you ever wondered what kind of games and sports people Lao play? Well, now you’re going to find out. Laos has many different types of sports including volleyball, soccer, boxing and field hockey. Children will play with balls, dolls and make tracks in the dust with toy cars just like children everywhere do. Outside of school, there are few organized sporting actives for youths. The sports and games that people in Laos play are very interesting and sound very fun. http://www8.gmanews.tv/webpics/sports/SuzukiCup_RP_Laos.jpg
Laos has many different types of sports including volleyball, soccer, boxing and field hockey. Field hockey is the game played with bamboo sticks and a ball made of roots. Another popular game they play is Ga to. Ga to be a game where three or more people stand on each side of a net, they have to keep a tightly wound ball of rattan straw in the air, without using there hands. Sometimes very limber player with somersault and kick the ball up when they flip. Laos has many games that kids and adults can play. This is some of Los field hockey sticks made out of bamboo. http://imgusr.tradekey.com/o-B727747-20070706071952/sell-wooden-amp-composite-hockey sticks.jpg
Children will play balls, dolls and make tracks in the dust with toy cars like children everywhere do. Children also like to jump rope. They usually make their jump ropes out of loops of rubber bands tied together. Finished with work or school, the young men and the children play games. Overall, children and men in Laos play the same games as us but just change it or do it in a different way. http://www.thetravelword.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/06/Laos-rugby-federation-little-girl.jpg
Outside of school there or few organized sporting events for youths. Sports in Laos are undeveloped in Laos do to the lack of facilities. The sports are popular in Laos require minimal equipment of facilities. These include soccer, sepak Takraw, martial arts and ball toss in tribal areas. To conclude it hard for people in Laos get supplies and a facility so there so sports were very enveloped. http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/magazine/2007/0528/takraw_0528.jpg
Some types of games and sports people in Laos play field hockey, Ga to and play with toy cars in the dirt. Laos has many different types of games in sports like soccer, volleyball, playing with dolls, and playing with toys. The children will play with toy cars and jump ropes just like kids everywhere. Outside of school there are few organized sports for kids in Laos to play because of the lack of facilities. In conclusion the sports and games that people in Laos are very interesting and also sound very fun! http://ferenc.biz/pictures/kids-playing-
don-khong-island-laos.jpgnd
Fashion/Clothes Do you ever wonder about what people wear in Laos? Get ready because you’re going to learn about it. Hmong clothes are traditional clothing in Laos. In Laos there are unique Hmong clothing. The Hmong clothes represent a subgroup. You know, those beautiful Hmong clothing was originally from Thailand and Laos but now, it’s everywhere. http://media.lonelyplanet.com/lpimg/26841/26841-8/preview.jpg
Hmong Clothing is Traditional clothing in Laos. Before 1975, when contact between the Hmong in Laos and the Hmong in other countries was ware and each subgroup wore its own traditional costumes, clothing tended to be used as markers or to distinguish Hmong bands on their shirts, or the MongLeng, with their find batik plaited skirts. For men, traditional Hmong clothing often consists of a pair of long black pants held at the waist by an embroidered or plain red band with a black shirt tucked. The Hmong women’s formal costume represents her skill and her wealth of her family. The fore, Hmong clothing is important and a traditional thing. http://www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmn/whatsart/hmonga.jpg
In Laos, there are unique Hmong clothing. The white Hmong (Hmong Duab) wear plain white pleated skirts while the Green Hmong (Hmong Ntsuab) dresses are dyed indigo with needle work. Usually, both men and women wear a loose black pajama type shirt and pants. Each girl must sew and embroider a heavy pleated skirt that may be twenty feet (six meters) wide at the hem. It is dark with sharp accents of color along the apron and on the sash. After all, Hmong clothing is different and unique clothing. http://www.deltaphilambda.org/newsletter/wp-
content/uploads/2010/08/hmongdresses.jpg
The Hmong clothes represent a subgroup. They reproduce the intricate designs associated with each subgroup and family that vary from each region to region. Depending on which subgroup the clothing represents the designs on the bands, skirts, head gear, and jewelry. Today, as a result of increased contact and trade among the Hmong in China, Laos, Thailand, and the West, and the fact that it is increasingly easier to buy then to make traditional costumes, Hmong from each subgroup tend to wear the costumes from each other subgroups. So now, you know Hmong clothes come from a subgroup. http://www.sapagreen.com/images/img_other/sapa_peo/1%20hmong.jpg
In all, what they wear are colorful, creative, and different clothes you think you would never have seen. It can be modern or traditional. Traditional clothing is worn in Laos. It is a tradition for the Hmong people. There are many different clothing in Laos. Hmong clothes will always represent something. Like a subgroup. In conclusion, Laos is a perfect place to see the real beautiful Hmong clothing. http://mrsmooney.edublogs.org/files/2010/12/HmongClothing2_opt-pt13m9.jpg
Works Cited Enchantment of the World: Laos. Print. "Laos Holidays List." Mekong Express Home Page. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mekongexpress.com/laos/general/holidays.htm>. Web. Enchantment of the World: Laos. Print. "The Jade Times." Culture Spotlight: Hmong Clothing Stands out with Embroidery and Intricate Details -. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.deltaphilambda.org/newsletter/?p=118>. "Privacy." Cultural Orientation Resource Center: Error 404. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cal.org/co/Hmong/Laos.html>. Enchantmwent of the World: Laos. Print. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com>. "Greentrailtours.com: The Leading Green Trail Tour Site on the Net." Greentrailtours.com: The Leading Green Trail Tour Site on the Net. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.greentrailtours.com>. Web.