Phuket vegetarian festival 2020

Fire-walking has been specifically included in the official phuket vegetarian festival 2020 of events for the festival produced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand TATreleased 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.

Across Phuket, especially in the Chinese communities of Phuket City, Thalang and Kathu, Chinese shrines fill up with devotees dressed in pure white. Some perform sacred rituals and physically challenging acts including walking barefoot over hot coals and climbing ladders of sharp blades. To discover a less gory side of the festival, visit some of the hundreds of food stalls that set up around the Chinese temples. Several restaurants around Phuket also switch their menus to vegan fare during the festival. The best place to find vegetarian food during the festival is in the Phuket Old Town area. Wander along Ranong Road near the Jui Tui shrine to find dozens of food stalls. Search for:.

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.

As they passed I would often close my eyes to avoid the errant firecracker and cover my ears, or simply retreat.

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. Ultimately, the goal of the festival is to express the happiness of the people who survived a 19th-century deadly disease and to honour the gods who heeded their call for help.

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.

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Old and young, men and women, boys and girls all dressed in white snaked around the grounds of the shrine. Refrain from sexual behaviour. In Town There are a ton of options to stay at in town. For some adherents, I noted multiple stamps from previous crossings in years past, almost like a concert t-shirt. This is not for the faint of heart. View Larger Image. The masong bring and decide what they will be pierced with. But it can be anything from a pistol, a pineapple, an advertisement for a local car dealership, or even a basket of flowers. Skip to content Superyacht News. The benefit was I was able to visit places with virtually no foreign tourists combined with the occasional discount as well.

Phuket Vegetarian Festival is the most popular in town for a reason. Like it or hate it but you can certainly not remain indifferent to it. Unlike other festivals and celebrations, this festival involves a lot of gory scenes besides fireworks and fancy attires.

And the reality is if you are going to both the morning and afternoon processions you will be moving around. You will be able to find it online. Other masongs opted for multiple piercings of needles across their arms, chest, shoulders, back, and for one masong across his forehead. View Larger Image. Home » Visiting Phuket Vegetarian Festival. These Nine Gods are said to represent nine stars found in the skies. 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. Bring a lot of white t-shirts and other clothes. The added bonus is Thailand had shut its doors to the 40 million tourists who annually visit the Kingdom. Besides the cheek piercings, there were many other alternatives. Search for:. For the most part despite the number of piercings I witnessed, in most cases there was barely any blood. Opening time.