The Phuket Vegetarian Festival officially kicked off yesterday evening with a traditional pole-raising ceremony around the island so that signals the descent of the Nine Emperor Gods from the heavens, marking the traditional beginning of the festival.
While the Taoist vegetarian festival is celebrated throughout Thailand annually, Phuket holds the largest festivities due to its large Thai-Chinese community.
Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong presided over the ceremony at Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town at 5:09pm, considered an especially lucky hour of the day in Thailand. Jui Tui is the largest Chinese shrine in Phuket, with the most male and female Ma Song spirit mediums joining the festival each year.
The Ma Song mediums in attendance, who pierce their body parts to prove to their worshippers that they have truly been possessed because they show no signs of pain, were dressed in white. They performed sacred rituals shortly after the pole-raising ceremony, as thousands of locals and tourists watched on.
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From 10pm, all other Chinese shrines participating in the festival joined in pole-raising ceremonies of their own as the vegetarian food-eating began.
This year’s festival lasts until Oct. 28.
All devotees participating in the nine-day festival are forbidden from eating meat and should abstain from sex and alcohol while wearing white and practicing general cleanliness and hygiene for the duration.
The Coconuts team’s weekend will be … different than that on many levels.
Story: The Phuket News
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