Burma became an independent nation on January 4, 1948, initially as a democratic nation and then, following a coup d'état in 1962, a military dictatorship.
In 1989, the military government officially changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar. Traditionally Myanma was the literary and Bamar the colloquial name.
Accepting the name change in the English-speaking world has been slow, with many people still using the name Burma to refer to the country. Major news organizations like the BBC still call it Burma.
The capital also changed its name from Rangoon to Yangon but in 2006 moved to Nay Pyi Taw.
The current flag of Myanmar was adopted on October 21, 2010 to replace the former flag in use since 1974. The design of the flag has three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red with a five-pointed white star in the middle. The three colors of the stripes are meant to symbolize solidarity, peace and tranquility, and courage and decisiveness.
Anti-modem laws restrict Internet access in the country of Myanmar. Illegal possession of a modem can lead to a prison term.
Myanmar is the largest country in South East Asia that is not an island.
The national sport of Myanmar is chinlone, a kind of football in which the object is to keep a woven rattan ball in the air. It is played by teams of six who pass the ball between each other within a circle, without using their hands.
Myanmar has competed at every Summer Olympics since 1948 but has not yet won a medal.
The currency unit in Myanmar is the kyat which is divided into 100 pyas.
Myanmar is one of three countries that have not adopted metric units as its official system of measurement. The other two are Liberia and the USA.
In 1989, the military government officially changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar. Traditionally Myanma was the literary and Bamar the colloquial name.
Accepting the name change in the English-speaking world has been slow, with many people still using the name Burma to refer to the country. Major news organizations like the BBC still call it Burma.
The capital also changed its name from Rangoon to Yangon but in 2006 moved to Nay Pyi Taw.
The current flag of Myanmar was adopted on October 21, 2010 to replace the former flag in use since 1974. The design of the flag has three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red with a five-pointed white star in the middle. The three colors of the stripes are meant to symbolize solidarity, peace and tranquility, and courage and decisiveness.
After 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister), she shared power with the military. That agreement gradually withered and reached a breaking point after a landslide election victory for her party in November 2020. This may have led military officials to worry they would be pushed further out of the government. On February 1, 2021 Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested by the military during a coup d'état after they declared the November 2020 Myanmar general election results fraudulent.
Myanmar is the largest country in South East Asia that is not an island.
The national sport of Myanmar is chinlone, a kind of football in which the object is to keep a woven rattan ball in the air. It is played by teams of six who pass the ball between each other within a circle, without using their hands.
 |
| Men playing chinlone. By Thomas Schoch |
Myanmar has competed at every Summer Olympics since 1948 but has not yet won a medal.
The currency unit in Myanmar is the kyat which is divided into 100 pyas.
Myanmar is one of three countries that have not adopted metric units as its official system of measurement. The other two are Liberia and the USA.
Betel, a sort of chewing gum, is chewed by about 60% of men in Myanmar and almost 25% of the women.
Lahpet thoke is one of Myanmar's traditional dishes. It is a salad of fermented tea leaves.
Source Daily Express
Lahpet thoke is one of Myanmar's traditional dishes. It is a salad of fermented tea leaves.
Source Daily Express
No comments:
Post a Comment