By MOOK Travel Life Network, Li Xinyi, compiled and reported
Among all Buddhist festivals in Thailand, apart from Buddha’s Birthday, the “Candle Festival” is arguably the most celebrated. This year, the Candle Festival will be held from July 20 to August 5 in the northeastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, expanded in scale, and will invite artisans and artists from various countries to participate in “candle carving.” On that day, a variety of elaborate candle artworks of different shapes and sizes, carved from beeswax, will be unveiled. These works will be placed on floats and paraded through the city before being brought to local temples.
To celebrate one of Thailand’s important Buddhist events—the Candle Festival—a series of activities including float parades, beauty pageants, and carving competitions will take place during the event period. (Image provided by the Tourism Authority of Thailand)
With the start of the rainy season, Thailand’s Buddhist Lent also begins, during which monks devote themselves to studying Buddhism and meditation. Monks are required to stay in the temples and not go out for three months, observing a period of lent. People devoutly participate in merit-making activities during this time, offering a variety of abundant food, desserts, and daily necessities to the temple monks. Other essentials such as candles, lanterns, and kerosene lamps are considered indispensable, as people believe that light can illuminate the bodies and minds of the monks.
The main activities on this year’s Candle Festival day include a ceremony where the Thai King presents the Royal Candle, merit-making offerings, traditional costume parades by local residents carrying candles, a Candle Queen beauty pageant, as well as candle carving competitions or traditional northeastern food tasting, dancing, and other folk performances.
Meanwhile, residents of Saraburi Province also have their unique merit-making ceremony called Tak Bat Dok Mai, or the Flower Offering Festival, held annually from July 14 to 16. This ceremony takes place at the famous Phra Buddhabat Woramahaviharn Temple, an ancient temple that enshrines the Buddha’s footprint. Here, in addition to traditional offerings, flowers that bloom during the lent period are also presented. Early in the morning after the offerings, young men and women take the opportunity to pick lent flowers (Dok Khao Pansa) before the candle and flower float parade begins. Devout Buddhists line up along both sides of the streets from the stupa of the Seven-Step Temple, forming a long human passage that leads back to the temple, allowing hundreds of monks and novice monks to pass through while presenting their offerings. The monks slowly walk back to the temple and then present the items to the Buddha. After the entire ceremony concludes, worshippers sprinkle holy water on the feet of the monks and novices, believing that this will bring them blessings and wash away their sins. For more details, please visit: www.thailandwax.com/en/index.php.
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