Full moon ceremony in Angkor Wat

In two days (6. April 2023) will be the full moon day of Tagu according to the Myanmar calendar. The month will end with the water festival. Exactly two months ago we were in Angkor and witnessed a splendid full moon ceremony in Angkor Wat. It started at a small temple on the northern side of the complex. A group of young girls dressed in traditional green garbs carrying flower baskets led the procession. Followed by children in school uniforms carrying the national flag and the flag of Theravada Buddhism which was designed by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, an American journalist, founder and first president of the Theosophical society. Please not the flag poles made of Chinese PVC-pipes. Maybe a sign of the growing Chinese influence in the country – just kidding …  Then came a group of strong young men carrying clubs who resembled the guardians in the old temple reliefs , followed by monks who carried what looked like replicas of royal insignia to me. The chief monks were protected by large umbrellas against the blazing sun. Several groups of laymen in traditional dress followed. They went around the ponds and turned back to the small temple after laying down beautiful flower baskets at at the terrace of honour. A grand spectacle and we considered ourselves lucky by having had the chance to witness it.