Many Thai people have Chinese ancestors who came to Thailand for work and business hundreds of years ago. They brought their own traditions which are still honoured and celebrated today. One of the most spectacular festivals that is celebrated in Thailand is Chinese - the Chinese Vegetarian Festival.
The Vegetarian Festival lasts for nine days and during that time the participants keep a strict vegetarian diet which means excluding meat, dairy, eggs, alcohol, onions and garlic from their meals. The purpose of the diet is to purify and cleanse your body. For this reason participants also dress in white clothes and follow special cleanliness and moral rules.
The most fascinating part of this festival is the processions that pass through the towns on their ways to different Chinese temples and shrines. Hundreds of people people dressed in white and yellow join in together with mediums who pierce their bodies (mostly their faces) with knives and other objects. The sound of firecrackers, drums and cymbals are heard from far away.
Chinese families and businesses prepare tables with flowers, food and offerings that are blessed by the mediums when the processions pass by. The mediums then continue to perform unbelievable feats such as walking barefoot on burning charcoal and climbing ladders with rungs made of sharp blades.
On Lanta the biggest celebration takes place in Old Town and we are now preparing for our trip there on October 29th. Please sign up at the reception if you would like to join.
Below you can see some photos from previous years. If you don't like to see a man with a knife through his cheeks you should click away from this page.
The Vegetarian Festival lasts for nine days and during that time the participants keep a strict vegetarian diet which means excluding meat, dairy, eggs, alcohol, onions and garlic from their meals. The purpose of the diet is to purify and cleanse your body. For this reason participants also dress in white clothes and follow special cleanliness and moral rules.
The most fascinating part of this festival is the processions that pass through the towns on their ways to different Chinese temples and shrines. Hundreds of people people dressed in white and yellow join in together with mediums who pierce their bodies (mostly their faces) with knives and other objects. The sound of firecrackers, drums and cymbals are heard from far away.
Chinese families and businesses prepare tables with flowers, food and offerings that are blessed by the mediums when the processions pass by. The mediums then continue to perform unbelievable feats such as walking barefoot on burning charcoal and climbing ladders with rungs made of sharp blades.
On Lanta the biggest celebration takes place in Old Town and we are now preparing for our trip there on October 29th. Please sign up at the reception if you would like to join.
Below you can see some photos from previous years. If you don't like to see a man with a knife through his cheeks you should click away from this page.
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