This year’s Vegetarian Festival is lively in many areas. Many provinces use this opportunity to cook and distribute food. People who give are happy and people who receive are full.
Trang Province, at the Chao Pho Muen Ram Trang Shrine, people who observe the vegetarian diet join in a ceremony of chanting and praying, walking around candles with incense and the medium horses that are possessed by spirits, joining in a ceremony of walking around candles with incense to ward off bad luck, performing a ceremony to wash the keaw or palanquin, and washing weapons for good fortune. Two cranes are also used to lift more than 2 million firecrackers for the medium horses that are possessed by spirits to wash themselves and those carrying the keaw or palanquin.
The Khew-washing Ceremony or the Kiew-washing Ceremony refers to the sacred palanquin. In addition to cleaning with water, wrapping it in cloth and decorating it neatly, attaching five-colored flags as the flags of the Buddha, the Kiew-washing Ceremony is a ce
remony to wash firecrackers. Firecrackers are used to wash the palanquin, offered by the faithful. The Khew-washing Ceremony or the Kiew-firecracker-washing Ceremony is a sacred ritual that takes place the night before the procession of the sacred objects departs to bless the faithful and allow children and grandchildren to play firecrackers to their hearts’ content.
This morning, the owner of the Soi 9 Chinese Pastry Shop on Huai Yot Road, Tambon Thap Thiang, Amphoe Mueang Trang, prepared over 20 vegetarian dishes a day to distribute to the public between October 3-11, for a total of 9 days, with two meals a day: breakfast (6:30 a.m.) and lunch (10:30 a.m.). Thousands of people brought their lunch boxes to wait for free vegetarian food from the shop before 5:00 a.m. every day, saving money in an era when goods are expensive, causing the vegetarian food to run out within 1 hour.
At the Mall Park and in front of The Mall Korat shopping center, the opening ceremony of ‘THE MALL KORAT 25th LEGENDARY J-FEST, J-
FEST, Kusonjit Thuathai, 25th time’ was held. The Deputy Governor of Nakhon Ratchasima Province / Government and private sectors / Thai-Chinese Association of the province jointly prepared a vegetarian menu ‘8 Immortal Vegetarian Noodle Rolls, 88 meters long’ which is considered the highlight of the event. The ingredients used totaled more than 288 kilograms and were distributed to more than 1,888 plates of people who attended the event. The number 8 is an auspicious number in many cultures around the world. It is believed to represent good luck, happiness, prosperity and success.
Source: Thai News Agency