Vegetarian Festival in Phuket – Unforgettable Experience

For all the globetrotting vegetarians out there, a visit to Thailand between the months of September and October is ripe. The first new moon after the autumn equinox is a festive time in Thailand. This is the time they celebrate the annual Vegetarian Festival.  For nine straight days, Thailand turns into a vegetarian haven.

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History of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Phuket Vegetarian Festival is a yearly event of Phuket island in Thailand. It is held on the 9th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. On this vegetarian festival, Phuket local residents who have Chinese origin abide by a ten days vegetarian dieting for the merit making and the spiritual purifying purpose. The origin of the event went back for quite a long time. It is believed that the festival was commenced by a wandering opera group from China who were infected with malaria while playing opera on the island. The opera group realized that they had forgotten to pay homage to the Nine Emperor Gods in the first nine days of the month. The group then adopted a vegetarian diet to pay respect to those emperor deities. As a result, the illness afflicting the opera group miraculously vanished. Once the people of Phuket town knew about this ,they adopted the faith and observe the vegetarian dieting enthusiastically. In addition to this, members of the opera group were sent back to China to find out more about how the rites should be properly executed. On their coming back to Phuket, they brought back the holy writings together with sacred name plaques which had the status of gods. The plaques invited the emperor gods to come the island to drive off the evil spirits. As a result, each year the rituals are performed at the commencing on the first eve of the ninth month in the lunar calendar.

During the festival the participants would dress in all white and follow the commitments such as be a vegetarian, perform no sex, no alcohol, behave themselves well. During the festival, pregnant and menstruating women are not allowed to take part in these ceremonies. The rituals are performed at 6 of Chinese shrines in the island. The main shrine known as Jui Tui Shrine is located close to the fresh market in town. The first event is to raise the Lantern Pole which is an act to notify all nine Chinese gods that the vegetarian festival is starting. The most exciting parts of the festival is the gruesome ceremonies held to invoke the nine gods. Those actions include walk on hot fire, body piercing and self mortification where participants would puncture their cheeks with assorted items such as skewers, knives, skewers. Those people think that the Chinese gods will protect them from trauma.

Vegetarian Dishes

The local people usually take their household gods to the temple as they believe that the household gods will benefit from the yearly shot of spiritual. For visitors, in addition to the dramatic eye witness of this astonishing festival, visitors can enjoy an extended range of tasteful vegetarian Thai and Chinese cuisine made available on street across the island. The vegetarian dishes are recognized by the yellow flags with red Thai and Chinese characters. The 2009 festival will start from 18 - 26 October 2009.

History of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

In addition to this amazing festival, there are much more Phuket things to do for visitors.

Martin A Kim is an avid traveler who has visited Phuket for many times.

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Thai Vegetarian Festival with a bizarre

This is an annual Vegetarian Festival in Thailand. Synchronization is based on the Chinese calendar and this year was the end of October. This is a ten-day event, which is more or less observed throughout Thailand. In most places, it simply means that the food vendors to sell some courts go vegetarian.

But to turn in parts of southern Thailand, a bizarre events. The origin of this festival dates back to 1825 when a Chinese opera company fell TravelSeriously ill and was able to cure themselves by eating a vegetarian diet and ritual ceremonies. Who has impressed the Chinese community in Thailand and have decided to create an annual festival to celebrate and promote vegetarian this healing method for self-determination.

The festival is observed mainly by Thais of Chinese origin. To clean the body and mind eating vegetarian for a few days, alcohol and sex, and wear the white boxClothing during the festival. This seems harmless enough, but there is another aspect.

Hundreds of people commit acts of self harm by piercing their cheeks with swords, needles, metal rods, bayonets and other equipment. They fight with sharp objects until their blood flowed, they go up a ladder, knives and go on a bed of coals, all barefoot.

One might think that should scream with pain, but it is the opposite ofHomes. Self-mutilation are in a trance, feel no pain, and there is virtually no bleeding, if they get the point. After removal of the goods, the wounds close quickly, without bleeding and without scars. They are convinced that the Chinese people to protect them from evil, and seems to work. Every year the exercise of their cruel acts of courage and self-mutilation, but after everything is finished, the participants are not only good health to be restored, but they feel and purified and closer to their gods.

The atmosphere is electric. Thousands of fireworks are growing like the sound of machine gun. The coaches are very happy to "white" in processions, and many people are possessed by spirits, entering a trance state and become a spirit medium. There's quite a spectacle, and if you do not see it, is hard to believe.

People bring their household gods and help them in colorful processions. And 'tasty> Vegetarian food for sale everywhere. Ceremonies are held in several Chinese temples, where the gods come and asked to blow all the time of firecrackers and drums are beaten, all caused so much noise as possible, as lucky, and also serves the evil spirits. distribute all ends with the expulsion of fireworks and a giant screen on the last day.

Some of the advantages of the festival will be a purification of body and mind, aPacification of the gods, the promotion of healthy eating and good hygiene, evidence of supernatural forces, and the development of an inner state of peace. For a foreigner, may be the spirit of expansion or crazy experience an aspect of Thai culture that can not be explained reasonably demonstrated. Some things in life will always remain a mystery.

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