Phuket vegetarian festival 2020

Across Phuket, especially in the Chinese communities of Phuket City, Thalang and Kathu, Chinese shrines fill up with devotees dressed in pure white, phuket vegetarian festival 2020. Some perform sacred rituals and physically challenging acts including walking barefoot over hot coals and climbing ladders of sharp blades.

Fire-walking has been specifically included in the official programme of events for the festival produced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand TAT , released this week. See below. Devotees and Mah Song spirit mediums will lead the procession from the Choor Su Gong Shrine while many local residents and visitors to the island are expected to line the streets to observe the procession. Devotees observing and taking part will be wearing white to represent the purification of taking part in the festival. Komart Pankeard, Chief of the Phuket office of the Ministry of Culture, explained last month that street processions can be held this year like they are every year, but all people taking part in the processions must wear face masks all the time. Crowd control measures will be in effect, with people attending the ceremonies required to register their attendence at each event,, he said.

Phuket vegetarian festival 2020

Visiting Phuket Vegetarian Festival. Always look for the silver lining. While I spent a couple of months mostly quarantined in my apartment, by June Thailand had effectively opened up. This meant there was time to explore parts of Thailand I had not been to before. The added bonus is Thailand had shut its doors to the 40 million tourists who annually visit the Kingdom. The benefit was I was able to visit places with virtually no foreign tourists combined with the occasional discount as well. While perusing the calendar I noted that the Phuket Vegetarian Festival was taking place in mid-October. This event had always been on my list, but I had always been out of the country during this festival. This year was different. The name can be a bit deceiving. Yes, adherents consume vegetarian meals, actually vegan during the festival, but that is not one will recall after attending this nine-day event. Devotees purify themselves in a unique manner and by doing so take on the sins of the community. A large portion of the population in Phuket are known as Peranakans, or Phuket Babas in the local tongue. Their ancestors emigrated from southern China during the 19 th century, and originally worked in the Phuket tin industry, the main driver of the economy.

The technician expeditiously slides the piercing into the masong.

Known as:. Nine Emperor Gods Festival. Phuket Vegetarian Festival is the annual nine-day event, celebrated by the Chinese Hokkien descendants across the island for the purposes of physical well-being, spiritual cleansing, merit-making, conferring good luck in the future, and ensuring prosperity and long life. In , when Phuket inhabited mostly by Chinese miners, the unnamed epidemic was spreading in Kathu Town and caused several deaths. Among many patients, some of them were the members of an opera troupe from China.

If you find yourself in Phuket around September or October, spend some time at a colourful and unique festival. It runs for nine days and is considered a bizarre festival. This is mostly because the festival involves self-mutilation by a few participants in order to show their loyalty to their Deities aside from adopting a special diet for the duration of the festival. Participants usually walk on hot coals or pierce their cheeks with swords! This festival can trace its origins to the belief of the Chinese community that abstaining from various stimulants and meat products can help in obtaining peace of mind and good health. These include invoking the gods through different self-mutilating acts such as body piercing and fire walking. The history of this festival may be a bit unclear but it is commonly believed to have been brought by a Chinese opera group that got hit by the Malaria epidemic of the time. The Chinese observe the tradition of abstaining from telling lies, quarrelling, having sex, drinking alcohol, and eating meat. This was done to ensure that the body and the mind are cleansed or purified.

Phuket vegetarian festival 2020

The most significant festival in Phuketian culture, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, is celebrated in the ninth Chinese lunar month, which this year falls on October 6 — October The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual nine-day event, celebrated by the Chinese Hokkien descendants across the island for physical well-being, spiritual cleansing, merit-making, conferring good luck in the future, and ensuring prosperity and long life. In , when Phuket inhabited mostly by Chinese miners, the unnamed epidemic was spreading in Kathu Town and caused several deaths. Among many patients, some of them were the members of an opera troupe from China. They also suddenly stricken by an epidemic when they were hired to perform in Phuket. In hope of finding a cure, the Chinese opera troupe started and led the locals to abstain from eating meat and prayed to the Jade Emperor God and the Nine Emperor Gods for 9 days and 9 nights, as they used to practice during the ninth Chinese lunar month when they were in China. Consequently, members of an opera troupe recovered their health afterwards and caused great curiosity to the locals. The practising then widely accepted in the Chinese community on the island and passed down from generation to generation until the present day. Consume foods that consist of vegetables, except for pungent kinds, such as garlic, onions, coriander and flowering garlic chives.

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They also act as a phalanx providing protection to the masong. Please check out Where Sidewalks End. Thousands of adherents take to the street, donned in white. While perusing the calendar I noted that the Phuket Vegetarian Festival was taking place in mid-October. As they passed I would often close my eyes to avoid the errant firecracker and cover my ears, or simply retreat. Yes, you got to peel the onion back. Celebrations are taking place at all 25 shrines across the island. The masongs walk barefoot for many kilometers in the searing Thai heat. Walking would be somewhat challenging since the shrines might be located kilometers apart. Yes, adherents consume vegetarian meals, actually vegan during the festival, but that is not one will recall after attending this nine-day event. This restaurant is located in a year-old house. Footnote : Contact Seal Superyachts Thailand for detailed information about cruising around Thailand, superyacht charter regulations and about how we can support your visit. The soon to be masong huddle near a shrine clad in white. They approach the table, forcefully slam their hands repeatedly, and an assistant hastily provides them with their colorful ceremonial dress, whip, and flag.

Last Updated on October 21, by Christine Kaaloa. Although the vegetarian festival is held nationwide throughout Thailand, Phuket Town is the place that the festival culminates with spectacles and feats.

Abruptly, a masong will fall into a trance as a God enters them. And the posses members act like a pit crew to a race car driver. Compared to some of their peers, I felt some of these masongs were unenthusiastically demonstrating their fealty. I got hit multiple times with firecrackers, but thankfully not in the eye. Home » Visiting Phuket Vegetarian Festival. The masong is then matched with a piercing technician. Legend has it a 19 th century Chinese opera group fell sick when touring Phuket. Devotees purify themselves in a unique manner and by doing so take on the sins of the community. Subscribe now Spend 2 days in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone the world's worst nuclear disaster with over photos! You will be able to find it online. Source: The Phuket News. Sign up to receive your free copy of Photos From Chernobyl. Pre-Procession The day starts early. Bring a lot of white t-shirts and other clothes. The provide water and wipe away saliva that drips down their chin.