The colourful festivals of Songkran and Loy Krathong are well-known to tourists. However, Thailand has many more unique festivals that are not always found in guide books. Please contact us with news about your event.
| Merit Making for H.M. The Queen |
| Wednesday, 12 August 2009 03:03 |
![]() Today, people from all over Thailand are celebrating Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's 77th birthday. Like people in other regions of the country, many locals from Samut Prakan dressed in blue today which is the colour for Friday, the day that Her Majesty was born. Several thousand local people came together at the parade ground next to the Provincial Hall at 7 a.m. this morning to offer food to several hundred Buddhist monks. ![]() The ceremony was opened by Mr. Kwanchai Wongnitikorn, the Governor of Samut Prakan Province. He first paid homage to a Buddha image and then took part in chanting. Attending the event were many local government officials who all came together to pay homage to Her Majesty. A similar event was being held at the same time in Bangkok at Sanam Luang. H.M. The Queen is regarded as a mother to all Thai people as they love her so much. Since 1976, this day has also been celebrated as National Mother's Day. ![]() After the chanting had finished, the Governor led the local people in giving alms to several hundred monks. Tables had been set up around the parade ground and local people had gathered behind them since early morning. They did this to make merit on behalf of H.M. The Queen. To make the most merit, the food should have been prepared by themselves before they arrived and not bought at a food stall. Leftovers from the night before must never be given to monks. ![]() The local people stood behind the tables as the monks slowly made their way down the row. People were giving fresh food as well as pre-prepared packages such as pot noodles that you can see in this picture. As some of these items were too big for the alms bowls, each of the monks were assisted by temple boys who carried big sacks. The monk then emptied their bowls into these sacks. By the end of the alms giving event, the pick-up trucks from the temples were full with sacks of food. Local people also gave the monks purple orchid flowers and also envelopes containing money. ![]() After the alms giving had finished, Mr. Kwanchai Wongnitikorn and local people made merit for H.M. The Queen by releasing 1,000,000 sea creatures into the Chao Phraya River. This is a common event done to make merit for birthdays. People usually release birds or fish. I thought that 1,000,000 was a staggering number to release in one go, but it turned out to be very small shrimps. These were in plastic bags which people emptied out into a large tub of water. From this there was a pipe which washed the shrimps out into the river below. I have posted more pictures of these ceremonies, including a video at the Samut Prakan Forums. You can read more about Samut Prakan on our weekly online magazine at www.Paknam.com. |
RichardBarrow: Swedish tourist drowns in the waters off Ao Nang in Krabi yesterday - http://t.co/xwafBifo
RichardBarrow: RT @Denainbkk: Love that road! We have meetings down there often & it always makes me smile :) pic.twitter.com/BIMGdpid
RichardBarrow: RT @WryEyes: There's a road in Bangkok called We Love The King Road http://t.co/LziNVLbg
RichardBarrow: RT @ThaiPrisonLife: Inmates at Trang Prison rioted this morning, setting fire to living quarters http://t.co/0lqAZGBm
RichardBarrow: Thailand's Koh Lipe: Beach paradise in the south | @CNNGo http://t.co/bESG3Bbz
RichardBarrow: Viktor Bout is expected to be sentenced in American courts on Wednesday 8th February http://t.co/m1gxZBz3
RichardBarrow: RT @ThaiPrisonLife: Somyot’s son to go on a hunger strike to ‘Free My Dad’ from a Thai prison http://t.co/SZ8EUI3M
RichardBarrow: A new scanning device will help authorities identify smugglers on northern routes (Bangkok Post) http://t.co/IawSbktG
RichardBarrow: Burma to introduce electronic visa applications via the Internet next month (Nation) http://t.co/4YtJ8x6C
RichardBarrow: RT @EnjoyThaiFood: This is the normal Pad Thai dish but wrapped in an omelette (Pad Thai Hor Kai) http://t.co/80TZmzIo
RichardBarrow: Two defence volunteers gunned down in Yala (MCOT) http://t.co/5uEPMVFo
RichardBarrow: BMA using prisoners to dredge underground drains in Bangkok http://t.co/THAZljDn /via @ThaiPrisonLife
RichardBarrow: Thailand Motorbike Festival 2012 at Central World in Bangkok ends today http://t.co/QHf2HXHd
RichardBarrow: Nana thugs strike fear into elderly store owners (Bangkok Post) http://t.co/a3Ok7IJH
RichardBarrow: Thai capital should be moved to the Northeast of Thailand, top scientist says (Nation) http://t.co/wzhol0Bx
RichardBarrow: Thailand aims to stop worst child labour (Bangkok Post) http://t.co/5tglfBGV
RichardBarrow: RT @KristoferA: Make prisons mobile phone free zones => That's what they are trying to do but failing for some reason
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