Thai vegetarian festivals

This annual auspicious event is a most colourful and dramatic celebration which takes place during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The 9-day event is usually in late September or early October.

The origin of the festival is unclear. However, it has been passed from generation to generation that it originated in the south-eastern part of China near Fujian Province. The festival was celebrated to make merit and save animals from being killed for food

In Thailand, the most talked - about vegetarian festival is in Southern Province of Phuket where the auspicious ceremony is held in a grand celebration. During the 9-day period, the devout Chinese Buddhists dress in white attire, convert to vegetarians and observe the ten rules in order to purify their minds and bodies.

Besides a strict vegetarian diet and temple offering, some highlights of the 9-day event include incredible acts of self -mortification such as climbing knife - blade ladders, walking on hot coals, a ritual of bridge - crossing and a street - procession in which the mediums in a state of trance have their cheeks pierced and bodies spiked with various types of sharp objects.

The entire atmosphere is full of religious frenzy with the ear - spliting sound of firecrackers and lion dances. In the evening of the last day event, the main road of Phuket Town is turned into a path of din and smoke of firing crackers. All the local residents participate in the event. Visitors to Thailand should not miss an opportunity to visit Phuket during this auspicious event.

by Thanapol Chadchaidee

October festivals in Thailand

OK PHANSA & THOT KATHIN

Ok Phansa celebrates the end of the monsoon season. The rains’ retreat introduces the Kathin period when, throughout Thailand, the Buddhist laity present monks with new robes and other items deemed necessary for the monkhood's upkeep during the forthcoming monastic year.

VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL

Phuket Islanders of Chinese ancestry commit themselves to a vegetarian diet for nine days. The festival’s first day features a parade of white-clothed devotees and several aesthetic displays.

BOAT RACES

Since the Kathin period marks the official end of the rainy season, it is a time of celebration during which county fairs are held. Many of the fairs feature regattas. The city of Nan, north of Bangkok, holds famous boat races as does Surat Thani, Phichit, Nakhon Phanom, and Pathumthani.

To celebrate the end of Buddhist Lent (Ok Phansa), people in the northeast (I-san) mould beeswax into miniature Buddhist temples and shrines (wax castles) in order to gain merit, which will determine their future rebirth. These crafted models can be witnessed especially in Sakon Nakhon where there is an annual festival with a grand wax castle procession, competitive boat racing as well as traditional northeastern cultural performances among many other joyous activities.

Trang Vegetarian Festival
October 16-25
Kio Ong la and Chao Pho Muen Ram Chinese Shrines,Trang

Oringinating in the 19th century, this annual event is conducted by the locals of Chinese descent who engage in a ten-day vegetarian diet. There are merit-making ceremonies at local Chinese temples as well as processions of ascetics performing extraordinary feats.