Loy Krathong

Loy Krathong (or Loi Kratong, Thai ลอยกระทง) is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. It is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, in the western calendar this usually falls into November.
“Loi” means “to float”. “Krathong” is a raft about a handspan in diameter traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk (although modern-day versions use specially made bread 'flowers' and may use styrofoam), decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc. During the night of the full moon, many people will release a small raft like this on a river. Governmental offices, corporations and other organizations also build much bigger and more elaborate rafts, and these are often judged in contests. In addition, fireworks and beauty contests take place during the festival.
Letting go of Loy Krathong raftsThe festival probably originated in India as a Hindu festival similar to Divali as thanksgiving to the deity of the Ganges with floating lanterns for giving life throughout the year.
According to the writings of H.M. King Rama IV in 1863, the originally Brahmanical festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to honour the Lord Buddha. Apart from venerating the Buddha with light (the candle on the raft), the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. People will also cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of oneself. Many Thai believe that floating a krathong will create good luck, and they do it to honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha.
The beauty contests that accompany the festival are known as "Noppamas Queen Contests". According to legend, Noppamas was a consort of the Sukothai king Loethai (14th century) and she was the first to float decorated krathongs.
The Thai tradition of Loy Kratong started off in Sukhothai, but is now celebrated throughout Thailand, with the festivities in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya being particularly well known.

Thai New Year (สงกรานต์ Songkran)

The Thai New Year (Thai: สงกรานต์ Songkran) is celebrated every year on 13 April to 15 April. It is also celebrated in Laos (called pi mai lao or 'Lao New Year' in Lao), Cambodia, Myanmar (where it is called Thingyan), and by the Dai people in Yunnan, China. Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil New Year on the same dates.
The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed . If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off will be taken on the days immediately following Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then

New year traditionsThe most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with containers of water or water guns, or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends and neighbors.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance (น้ำอบไทย) over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at them, ritually 'bathing' the images, as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.
Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.
The throwing of water originated as a way to pay respect to people, by gently pouring a small amount of lustral water on other people’s hands or over a shoulder as a sign of respect. Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, since April is the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100?F or 40?C on some days). This has further evolved into water fights and splashing water over people riding in vehicles.
The use of plaster is also very common having originated in the plaster used by monks to mark blessings Some children having fun at the Bangkok Zoo during Song KranNowadays, the emphasis is on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritual and religious aspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the many alcohol-related road accidents as well as injuries attributed to extreme behavior such as water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.
The water is meant as a symbol of washing all of the bad away and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs.

Phi Ta Khon festival

The Phi Ta Khon festival, or Ghost Festival, is unique to the Dan Sai district in Loei Province and reflects the local Isan belief in ghosts and spirits. Held once a year, it is part of a grand merit-making festival known as the "Boon Luang" festival. It is usually held around July.

Building Sand Pagodas

Taking a break from the hectic Songkran celebrations, I went this afternoon to one of my local temples here in Paknam. It was like an oasis in the middle of a war zone. In the surrounding area, roaming pickup trucks, packed with people armed to the teeth, were patrolling the streets looking for people to squirt with their guns. However, here in the temple grounds, families were taking part in a more traditional part of Songkran. That is, the building of sand pagodas, or gor phra chedi sai in Thai.

This tradition apparently started as a way for local people to make merit. It was reckoned that over the cause of a year, a lot of sand would accidently be taken away from the temple on the bottom of people’s shoes. So, once a year, local lay people would be invited to bring back some sand and build a stupa. Well, these days things are a bit more organized. When I visited this temple yesterday a truck was just delivering the sand and the monks were busy making large piles for each team.

There was a good atmosphere at the temple today. There was a lot of other things going on as well and plenty of food stalls to keep people fed. I could see that an outdoor screen had been set up so I guess that there would be a free movie to watch tonight. There were a lot of families there. Each family was working on their own stupa. The shape and sizes did vary quite a bit and also the decorations put on them. But most of them had little flags and sticks with money attached to them.
This event happens all over the country during Songkran though the actual date is up to each temple. Down in Chonburi today they were having a competition on the beach to build sand pagodas and other objects of worship. I will be going down there tomorrow to see the results and I will be sharing the pictures with you as soon as I get back.

Read more at: http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=24&title=building_sand_pagodas&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1.

From: http://www.phuketguidebook.com/

Makha Bucha Day

Today was a religious holiday for everyone in Thailand. Like other Buddhist holidays, Makha Bucha Day doesn't happen on the same date every year. It is all to do with the phases of the moon. This holiday is held on the full moon of the third lunar month (usually end of February or early March).

Sand Stupas on the Beach

In Thailand, like other countries in the region at this time of year, people are building sand stupas at their local temple in order to make merit. The people of Bangsaen in Chonburi have taken this to the next step. Every year, towards the end of Songkran, local residents take part in a chedi building competition on the local beach. The results are quite stunning and it is often hard to believe that they are really only made of sand. The contestants started building their sand chedis yesterday and many of them worked into the night in order to have them finished.
We drove down to Bangsaen this morning to look at the results. Chonburi is only an hour away and the beach about 14 kms further. I thought all of the water throwing had finished by now so I stupidly had my car cleaned at the local petrol station before we left. The car was covered in white powder which had dried hard. I suppose it was all wishful thinking because I didn’t want to get wet taking pictures of works of art. When we got down to the beachfront we were confronted with a traffic jam of pickup trucks and thousands of people throwing water. Of course there was no way we were going to park there so we had to drive further up the beach to a quieter spot and then we walked back along the beach. We were lucky not to get covered in wet paste but the car wasn’t so lucky.

Bangsaen is a nice place to spend the day even if you don’t want to swim. At noon we drove to the northern end of the beach which was practically deserted. We sat down on beach chairs and ordered some lunch. We had tom yum kung and som tam with grilled chicken. The afternoon breeze made us feel sleepy and very relaxed. Before we left Bangsaen we drove to the top of Khao Sam Muk to see the beautiful view and also to see the monkeys. There were too many people so we didn’t stay for long. Driving back, we stopped briefly in Ang Sila which is a famous village for making objects out of granite. This is a good place to buy a mortar and pestle. As I have one already I bought two stone girls who were holding a jasmine garland and giving a wai. I thought they would look good by my front door. At less than $10 for the pair they were also good value for money.
Don’t forget to visit thaiphotoblogs.com over the next few days for some more pictures of today’s trip.

Readmore at: http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=23&title=sand_stupas_on_the_beach&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1.

From : http://www.phuketguidebook.com/thaifestivalblogs/content/view/131/51/

Vaisakha (วิสาขบูชา)

Vesak (Sinhalese) is the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar. In Indian Mahayana Buddhist traditions, the holiday is known by its Sanskrit equivalent, Vaisakha. The word Vesak itself is the Sinhalese language word for the Pali variation, "Visakha". Vaish?kha is the name of the second month of the lunar Hindu calendar. Vesak is also known as Visakah Puja, Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, Visakha Bucha in Thailand, Ph?t ??n in Vietnam, Waisak in Indonesia, Vesak (Wesak) in Sri Lanka and Malaysia, and Saga Dawa in Tibet. The equivalent festival in Laos is called Vixakha Bouxa and in Myanmar is called Ka-sone-la-pyae meaning Fullmoon Day of Kasone which is also the second month of the Myanmar Calender. Vesak is a public holiday in many Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and also Indonesia.
The exact date of Vesak, informally "Buddha's Birthday," is in the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar (typically May), coinciding with the first full moon of that month. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar and actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha

History

The decision to agree to celebrate Vesak as the Buddha’s birthday was formalized at the first Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (W.F.B.) held in Sri Lanka in 1950 , although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition. The Resolution that was adopted at the World Conference reads as follows, "That this Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, while recording its appreciation of the gracious act of His Majesty, the Maharaja of Nepal in making the full-moon day of Vesak a Public Holiday in Nepal, earnestly requests the Heads of Governments of all countries in which large or small number of Buddhists are to be found, to take steps to make the full-moon day in the month of May a Public Holiday in honour of the Buddha, who is universally acclaimed as one of the greatest benefactors of Humanity."
On Vesak Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. As Buddhism spread from India it was assimilated into many foreign cultures, and consequently Vesak is celebrated in many different ways all over the world
The celebration of VesakMay 2007 had two full moon days, the 1st and the 31st. Some countries (including Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Malaysia) celebrated Vesak on the 1st, while others (Thailand, Singapore) celebrated the holiday on the 31st.
On Vesak day, devout Buddhists and followers alike are expected and requested to assemble in their various temples before dawn for the ceremonial, and honorable, hoisting of the Buddhist flag and the singing of hymns in praise of the holy triple gem: The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings), and The Sangha (his disciples). Devotees may bring simple offerings of flowers, candles and joss-sticks to lay at the feet of their teacher. These symbolic offerings are to remind followers that just as the beautiful flowers would wither away after a short while and the candles and joss-sticks would soon burn out, so too is life subject to decay and destruction. Devotees are enjoined to make a special effort to refrain from killing of any kind. They are encouraged to partake of vegetarian food for the day. In some countries, notably Sri Lanka, two days are set aside for the celebration of Vesak and all liquor shops and slaughter houses are closed by government decree during the two days. Also birds, insects and animals are released by the thousands in what is known as a 'symbolic act to liberation'; of giving freedom to those who are in captivity, imprisoned, or tortured against their will. Some devout Buddhists will wear a simple white dress and spend the whole day in temples with renewed determination to observe the observance of the Eight Precepts.
Young buddhist monk on Vesak Day ParadeDevout Buddhists undertake to lead a noble life according to the teaching by making daily affirmations to observe the eight Precepts. However, on special days, notably new moon and full moon days, they observe additional disciplines to train themselves to practice morality, simplicity and humility.
The Eight Precepts are:
Not to kill Not to steal Not to engage in improper sexual activity Not to indulge in wrong speech Not to take intoxicating drinks and drugs To abstain from taking food at unreasonable times To refrain from sensual pleasures such as dancing, singing and self-adornment To refrain from using high and luxurious seats in order to practice humility. Devotees are expected to listen to talks given by monks. On this day monks will recite verses uttered by the Buddha twenty-five centuries ago, to invoke peace and happiness for the Government and the people. Buddhists are reminded to live in harmony with people of other faiths and to respect the beliefs of other people as the Buddha had taught

Vassa (วันเข้าพรรษา)

This article is about the Buddhist concept. For the Swedish dynasty, see House of Vasa.Vassa (from P?li vasso, Sanskrit var?a?, both "rain", Thai: พรรษา, pansa or phansaa;

also called Rains Retreat, is the traditional retreat during the rainy season lasting for three lunar months from July to October. During this time Buddhist monks remain in a single place, generally in their temples. In some monasteries, monks dedicate the Vassa to intensive meditation practice. During Vassa, many Buddhist lay people reinvigorate their spiritual training and adopt more ascetic practices, such as giving up meat, alcohol, or smoking (Vassa is sometimes known as "Buddhist Lent"). And in countries such as Thailand, the laity will often take monastic vows for the Vassa period and then return to lay life. Commonly, the number of years a monk has spent in monastic life is expressed by counting up the number of Vassas he has observed.
The retreat has largely been given up by Mahayana Buddhists, as Mahayana Buddhism typically flourished in regions where a rainy season did not exist, or was not significant.
The origins of the vassa tradition are ascribed to early Buddhist times. Gautama Buddha ordered his disciples to observe a pre-existing practice whereby holy men avoided travelling for a three month period during the rainy season, in order to avoid damaging crops.
The period begins on the first day of the waning moon in the eighth lunar month; the preceding day is Asalha Puja. The focus of celebration by the laity is the first day of vassa, Wan Kao Pansa, during which worshippers donate candles and other necessities to temples, a ceremony which has reached its most extravagant form in the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival.
Vassa is followed by two of the major festivals of the year among Theravada Buddhists, Wan Awk Pansa and Kathina.
The end of vassa is marked by joyous celebration. The following month, the Kathina ceremony is held, during which the laity gathers to make formal offerings of robe cloth and other requisites to the Sangha