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Here are some regular festivals, events and fairs held
on Phuket.
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Phuket
Vegetarian Festival:
is held from the first
through the ninth nights of the ninth Chinese lunar month; that
is, in September or October. It was first celebrated in 1825,
when a troupe of actors enacted these rites toward off a plague.
Vegetarian food is eaten by participants and white clothes worn
during the period of the fest. Self utilization is practiced
by those whose bodies become the temporary residence of powerful
gods. Parades of worshippers brave fireworks while carrying
images through the street; others walk on fire or climb bladed
ladders. Participants number in the thousands. The whole forms
one of the most bizarre festivals in Thailand.
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Por Tor Festival:
This is an ancestor's festival of the ethnic Chinese that falls
on the seventh Chinese lunar month, which is the same as the
ninth lunar month of the Thais. Special foods, flowers and candles
are presented to the ancestor's altars. Cakes in the shape of
turtles are made from flour. This is done because turtles live
to great age and it is believed that by making such offering
worshippers may extend the length of their lives. It is an important
merit-making festival.
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Seafood Festival
Held around May yearly, is designed to publicize the delicious
seafood of Phuket and attract visitors during the rainy season.
Activities include a Marine Tourism Resources Parade, seafood
stalls, demonstrations of regional cuisines and cultural shows.
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Thao Thep Krasatri-Thao
Sri Suntorn Festival:
is
held on 13 March yearly in memory of the two heroines
who led the defense of the island against the Burmese in 1785.
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Laguna Phuket Triathlon:
This annual year end event sees the world's top triathletes and
hundreds of amateurs competing for prize money and placing on
the world triathlon circuit. The course, which includes swimming,
bicycling, and running through the beautiful natural surroundings
of Laguna Phuket in Tambon Choeng Thale, takes from two-and-a-half
to five hours to complete.
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Accommodation:
Banyan Tree,
Sheraton Grande Laguna,
Dusit Laguna Resort,
Laguna Beach Resort,
Allamanda Laguna
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Turtle Release
Fair:
is held on Songkran, the nationwide
Thai water festival, on April 13. It is also the National Fisherman's
Day. Baby turtles are released into the sea at various locations.
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Tourist Season
Opening Festivals:
is usually called the
Patong Carnival
in English according to from the place where celebrations occur,
and is held on November 1. There are many stalls with merchandise
and food, parades, sports event, and a beauty competition for
foreign tourists. The fest is held to cement solidarity among
the government, the private business sector, and the people.
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Chao Le Boat Floating
Festival( Sea Gypsy):
falls during
the middle of the sixth and eleventh lunar months yearly. The
fest is held at the
Chao Le, or
Sea Gipsy, villages
in Phuket. The Rawai and Sapam villages hold their ceremonies
on the 13th; Sire village celebrates on the 14th; and the village
at Laem La (east of the bridge on Phuket's northern tip) celebrates
on the 15th. Ceremonies, which center around the setting adrift
of small boats similar to the Thai Festival of Loy Krathong,
are held at night and their purpose is to drive away evil and
to bring good luck. Fingernail clipping and strands of hair
are put in the little boats before being released, along with
little dolls fashioned from wood. Afterwards, the villagers
perform their famous dance round their own boats, called the
Ram Rong Ngeng.
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Phuket King's Cup
Regatta:
was first held in 1987 in honor of His Majesty's 60th birthday.
The King of Thailand is a noted
boating enthusiast
and yachts come from around the world to participate in the
competition, which is the largest and most popular in Southeast
Asia. It is held yearly on the anniversary of His Majesty's
birthday, 5 December. Site of the regatta is
Nai Harn Bay.
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Phuket Festival Fairs:
held on November
1, was first initiated in 1985 at
Patong to welcome
in the tourist season and designed to foster co-operation among
tourism-related operators both in the private and public sectors.
Many colorful and interesting activities are organized, such
as merit-making in the morning, water sports contests, a Miss
Visitor Contest, among others.
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Songkran Festival 13-15 April:
The word Songkran is derived from a
 Sanskrit
word meaning 'passing' or 'moving', measuring the movement of
the sun through the
twelve astrological signs beginning with Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius,
and Pisces; each passing taking approximately 30 days through
each sign. It takes a year for the sun to pass through all the
signs. This calendar is in use in India and the Southeast Asian
Nations that have been influenced by India-Thailand, Myanmar,
Cambodia, Laos, etc. The 13th is Maha Songkran day, the first
day of the new year celebrations, when the sun moves from Pisces
into Aries, and when the lengths of the day and night are equal.
Songkran is an important merit making period lasting three
days, being
-
Maha Songkran Day, last day of the old year (13th)
- Klang or Nao Day,
New Year's Eve (14th)
- New Year or Thaloengsok
Day (15th) |
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The legend of the
Songkran Goddess:
There is a specific goddess
associated with each day upon which the Maha Songkran Day falls
i.e. Thungsa, Khorak, Raksot, Montha, Kirini, Kimitha, and Mahothon
for Monday through to Sunday, respectively. The goddesses are
the daughters of the god Maha Songkran, otherwise known as Kabinlaphrom,
who lost his head in a wager with Thammabankuman. They are tasked
with carrying his head so that it would not touch the ground
lest the earth were to be incinerated, or the air lest the rain
not fall, or the oceans as they would dry and up. So each year,
the goddesses each take their turn in carrying his head on a
celestial salver.
The tradition has long been celebrated
in Thailand; the celebrations providing families with an opportunity
to get together, allowing youngsters the chance to pay respect
to their elders and for the elders to bless the younger members
of the family. It is a time of community, friendship, and renewal
of ties. The community also gets a chance to pull together in
making merit and engaging in other activities such as building
sand stupas, splashing of water, and general spring cleaning
of the home and temples, giving alms, releasing of birds and
fish, Nang Songkran procession, bathing buddha images, and seeking
the benediction of family elders. |
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Loi Krathong Festival:
Loi Krathong is a tradition believed to have been influenced
by the Indian Lantern or Diwali Festival, in which floats are
made in worship of the three Brahmin Gods Bhrama, Vishnu, and
Shiva. The belief was adapted to fit in with the Thai agrarian
way of life, dependent upon the flow of water, changing it into
a festival where one pay obeisance to Phra Mae Khongkha, the
goddess of water. The practice became widespread nationally
and internationally in due course, and has become synonymous
with the Thai Culture. While each region will heave its own
variations, the krathongs (floats) are normally shaped as a
lotus from locally available materials.
The floats are
decorated with incense and candles allowed to float along with
the flow of the river. Some would put in nail clippings and
strands of hair into the krathong as well, in the belief that
the sins of the past year would be washed away; some place coins
in the krathong as a way of making merit; some wish for love.
Once the krathongs are on their way there would normally be
fireworks and other festivities to be enjoyed like Krathong
Competition, and Nang Nopphamat Pageant, Loi Krathong, Games. |
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