« pi mai » means new year in lao language. The Festival takes place every year in mid-April.
The 1st day, Buddha images are taken out the temples to be cleansed with scented water by devotees, monks and population. The statues are placed on a special temporary altars within the coumpounds of wats.
People are doing the same at home. The 2nd day, the people use the scented water to pour on relatives and friends as purification before entering in the new year. Out of the temples and houses, we can see the young people with water guns and bulks every where in the streets, waiting for passing people...
The 3rd day, the Buddha images are returned to their proper shrinners.
In Luang Prabang, the Festival is celebrated with most parade, dances, and beautiful traditional dressed young lao girls.

The Buddhist Lent takes 3 months, starts from the full moon in July (the eighth full moon of the lunar calendar) to the full moon in October.

Khao Ok Phansa : At dawn, donations and offerings are made at temples around the city. In the evening, candlelight processions are held at temples and hundreds of colorful floats decorated with flowers, incense and candles are set adrift down the Mekong River to pay respect to the river spirit.
The following day in Vientiane, Savannakhet and Champasack Province, a popular and exciting boat racing competition is held to celebrate the Mekong River.

Boun Kathin starts immediately after the last day of the Buddhist Lent and lasts until the next full moon. Boun Kathin features the ceremonial offering of robes and other items to monks.

The Boat Racing Festival follows the Boun Ok Phansa, the ends of the Buddhist Lent. Excepted in Luang Prabang where the boat races take place just after the Boun Papdapdin, the festival for the Ancestors.
The Boat Racing Festival also celebrates the end of the rainy season and honours the Naga and divinities of the Mekong river.
In Vientiane, the boat race takes place on the Mekong River, starts at the Sunset Bar and ends at in front of the Lane Xang Hotel. Long boats with a crew of fifty or more men or women team rowing wooden pirogues to the beat of drums in competition for the coveted trophy.

Ceremonies to pray for the rains. The rocket festival, is held at the 6th month of the solar-lunar calendar. The villagers construct gigantic rockets and large launching structure. Villages compete for the "best decorated rocket" and "the highest launching". While they launch the rockets into the sky, peoples are singing, drumming and dancing.
Few mens disguised as women perform ritual dance with wooden phallus in order to anger the gods; gods are expected to send rains and thunderstorms as revenge.
it is also known as a Fecondity festival.