The last night of the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, more than 40 shrines joined in the ceremony to send the Buddha back to heaven, the atmosphere was very lively.
People and believers set up altars to welcome the deity or the Buddha, and bring firecrackers to light on the mediums and caretakers who are in charge of carrying the palanquin. When the procession sends the Buddha out of the gate, all lights in the shrine must be completely extinguished and the main gate closed. From 4:00 p.m. onwards, each shrine will hold a ceremony to lower the Ko Teng pole, which is considered the official end of the Vegetarian Festival tradition for this year.
For the ceremony to send the Jade Emperor Songte or Jade Emperor back to heaven, it will be reported that this year the people on the list worked hard without fail until the event was successfully completed. Then, before midnight, the shrines in Phuket town, such as Bang Niao Shrine, Jui Tui Tao Bo Keng Shrine, Sam Kong Shrine, will have a procession along the variou
s streets to the end of Saphan Hin Cape to perform the ceremony to send the Buddha. The atmosphere along both sides of the road is lively. Phuket town is filled with the sound and smoke from firecrackers, estimated to be no less than a million, especially at the clock tower roundabout and around Saphan Hin Cape. As for the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket next year, it is scheduled to be held from October 21-29, 2025.
At the Na Ja Sa Tai Chi Yi Kong Shrine in Samut Songkhram, Chinese-Thais joined in walking with incense sticks and praying to the deity Kiew Huang Huk Chow, who had come down to preside over the Vegetarian Festival, to bless those who participated in the festival to be successful and have good fortune throughout the coming year. They also crossed the Suphamongkhon Pathip Bridge to heaven to pay homage to the Jade Emperor, who granted them a blessing that ‘the sky is peaceful and happy, a great blessing, and a great profit. May you all be happy that the Jade Emperor grants you all success,’ accordi
ng to the beliefs of the Chinese and Chinese-Thais. Almost 1,000 people dressed in white joined the ceremony, filling the shrine. After the prayers were over, they joined in the launching ceremony of the largest and most beautiful junk ship in Thailand, built like a real junk ship, with a rubberwood frame and stretched with cloth and plywood. The ship is almost 3 meters wide, 10 meters long, and 6 meters high, and costs almost 200,000 baht. The ship is decorated with a dragon pattern, a symbol of the Chinese monarchy. This year is special because it is the Year of the Golden Dragon, so the bow of the ship is in the shape of a dragon. In particular, it is a five-clawed dragon that is more special than the usual one. Anyone who comes to pay homage and ask for a blessing will have all their wishes come true.
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The burning of boats in the middle of the Mae Klong Canal along with various offerings such as silver and gold chests, lotus flowers, lanterns, deity sets, vases, joss paper, gold paper, and man
y firecrackers, totaling more than a million baht, resounded throughout the Mae Klong River. Devotees joined together to offer to send the deity Kiew Huang Huk Chow to heaven according to their beliefs, which marked the end of the annual vegetarian festival of 2567.
Source: Thai News Agency