SALES of colourful electric “fairy” lights in Yangon have been increasing since last month as residents prepare to decorate their homes with dazzling displays of illumination during Thadingyut, owners of electric shops said last week.

“Fairy light sales have increased by six times since September because of the Thadingyut Festival,” said Soe Yarzar, the owner of Yarzar electric shop on Shwebontha Street in downtown Yangon.

“Before September we were selling about 750 strings of fairy lights a month but since last month we’ve sold about 5000,” he said.

U Soe Yarzar said he sells two types of incandescent light strings – plain, which cost about K700, and those covered with plastic fruit shapes, which sell for about K1300. New to the local market this year, he said, are strings of LED lights imported from China and Thailand, and selling for about K2000.

“This year we’ve sold about 4000 LED strings compared with about 1000 strings of incandescent lights,” he said.

Another shopkeeper who sells fairy lights on 30th Street also said sales have gone up since last month, attributing the increase not only to Thadingyut but also to the approach of Tazaungdine, Christmas and New Year.