Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are celebrating the water festival to mark the New Year according to the traditional lunar calendar.
Southeast Asian Countries Celebrate New Year Water Festival
![People play with water as they celebrate Myanmar New Year Water Festival in Yangon, April 12, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/60737ccd-6835-405a-a97b-e5396626282e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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People play with water as they celebrate Myanmar New Year Water Festival in Yangon, April 12, 2016.
![Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, center, sprinkles water to a performer during a ceremony to mark the country's annual water festival at Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, April 12, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/6acfee09-cfd3-4f9d-9971-8049f5a38c50_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Myanmar President Htin Kyaw, center, sprinkles water to a performer during a ceremony to mark the country's annual water festival at Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, April 12, 2016.
![Performers take part in a traditional dance during a ceremony to mark the Myanmar water festival at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, April 12, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/57bad0b8-aa43-4f0c-8792-0e17376c964c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Performers take part in a traditional dance during a ceremony to mark the Myanmar water festival at the Presidential Palace in Naypyitaw, April 12, 2016.
![A boy and an elephant splash each other with water during the celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 11, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/b7d27501-1bc2-4ec4-9a45-8c53c144fcc5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A boy and an elephant splash each other with water during the celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 11, 2016.
![Mahouts paint an elephant ahead of the celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 11, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/e50bf810-9ac3-4271-b107-1a6175a9d979_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Mahouts paint an elephant ahead of the celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, April 11, 2016.
![A schoolgirl is soaked with water thrown by an elephant in a preview of the upcoming Songkran Festival celebration, the Thai traditional New Year, also known as the water festival in the ancient world heritage city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, 11 April 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/28948ab4-90ef-446d-80e8-bc4f302015b4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A schoolgirl is soaked with water thrown by an elephant in a preview of the upcoming Songkran Festival celebration, the Thai traditional New Year, also known as the water festival in the ancient world heritage city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, 11 April 2016.
![Thai vendors stand near water pistols as they wait for customers in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10, 2016.](https://gdb.voanews.com/93d96985-24ac-4ec7-96e3-3824be8e5ec5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Thai vendors stand near water pistols as they wait for customers in Bangkok, Thailand, April 10, 2016.