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Buddhist Festivals
Buddhist Holy Days (Wan Phra) fall on the eighth day of the rising and falling moons and on the first day of the new moon. Thai calendars usually have the phases of the moon and the lunar month shown under the dates. The Thai years are calculated from the death of the Buddha, which is held to be 543 years before the birth of Christ. Thus 1996 is B.E. (Buddhist Era) 2539.
If you visit a temple on a holy day, you may see older men and women in white sitting around the viharn. On holy days devout lay Buddhists traditionally stay in the temple for twenty four hours.
On the three main annual Buddhist festivals (Makha Bucha (puja), Visakha Bucha and Asalaha Bucha) that celebrate events in the life of the Buddha, people go to the temples early in the evening for the wien tien ceremony. After chanting, a sermon and some meditation, they walk mindfully three times clockwise around the chedi or viharn holding flowers, a lit candle and burning incense. They then place them nearby as an offering. The ceremony is very colourful and is an excellent time to go to any of the major temples.
Festival Parades
The people of the north excel at putting on parades which are the main feature of many festivals and can last for several hours. Leading institutions sponsor a section of the procession. School marching bands (an art form for which several local schools have gained prizes in international competitions) and bands playing gongs, drums and cymbals lead men and women in traditional costumes.
The highlight of each section is a gorgeously decorated float with beautiful maidens. Prizes are offered for the best entries in the parade and much effort goes into them. Good parades to see are at the Bo Sang umbrella festival, the flower festival, Songkran and at Loi Krathong. |
