26/09/2016
Phuket Vegetarian Festival : 01 - 09 October 2016 schedule announced :
The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song".
Street processions:
Oct 2: Choor Su Gong Naka Shrine
Oct 3: Sapam Shrine, Bang Ku Shrine
Oct 4: Samkong Shrine
Oct 5: Ban Tha Rue Shrine, Jeng Ong Shrine
Oct 6: Bang Neow Shrine
Oct 7: Jui Tui Shrine
Oct 8: Kathu Shrine, Yokkekeng Shrine
Oct 9: Sui Boon Tong Shrine
Fire-walking:
Oct 6:
8:00pm: Jeng Ong Shrine, Jui Tui Shrine, Ban Tha Rua Shrine, Sapam Shrine, Yokkekeng Shrine
9:00pm: Tae Gun Shrine, Hai Yian Geng Shrine
Oct 7:
8:45pm: Tai Houd Tong
9:00pm: Bu Seng Tong
Oct 8:
2:00pm: Ban Don
8:00pm: Bang Niao, Pasak, Samkong, Ton Sai Waterfall, Ban Muang Mai, Cherng Talay, Chalong
Oct 9:
3:00pm: Kathu Shrine
7:30pm: BangKu Shrine
Bladed ladder climbing
Oct 7: Samkong and Bang Niao shrines
“On the last day of the festival, all participating shrines will stage street processions to Saphan Hin between 6 pm to midnight to bid the gods a ‘grand farewell’ before they proceed heavenward,” says Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana.
A special prayer ceremony will also be held on October 2 at Saphan Hin for the good fortune of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Ten rules for the vegetarian festival:
1. Maintain personal cleanliness
2. Use separate, clean kitchen utensils and do not share with others not participating
3. Wear white
4. Maintain polite behavior
5. Abstain from eating meat or other animal-based products
6. Abstain from sexual activities
7. Abstain from consuming alcohol
8. People in mourning should not take part
9. Pregnant women must refrain from watching festival rituals
10. Menstruating women should not attend festival rituals.