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Due to take place on the 25th of February 2013, Thailand’s Maka Bucha Festival is an annual religious festival of truly grand proportions. Marked on the full moon of the third lunar month this auspicious religious event commemorates the birth of the Buddhist order of monks and is also known as Sangha Day in other Buddhist nations across Asia. A red letter day in the Buddhist calendar the yearly festival celebrates the founding of the Buddhist monastic order collectively known as the Sangha and the hallowed day on which it was established.

Religious scripture dates the event nine months following the enlightenment of Lord Buddha when a record 1250 monks gathered in one location to spontaneously chant a sermon in his lordship’s honour. This is the occasion on which the fundamental tenants of the Buddhist priesthood are believed to have been set up and as the Sangha is considered one of the Three Triple Jems of the religion ( Buddha, Damma, Sangha) this event is marked with great veneration around the country by Buddhist devotees.

Declared a public holiday in the country and in neighbouring nations such as Laos and Cambodia, Maka Bucha Day observances in Thailand commence at sunset when temples around the country welcome pilgrims who come to perform religious rituals and engage in prayer. Listening to the preaching of the Dhamma and making donations are just some of the meritorious activities performed at the temple while the Five Precepts of the faith are also preserved during the sacred day by abstaining from sinful activities and drinking alcohol.

After making offerings and taking part in spiritual customs the pilgrims join the candlelight procession that gathers near the temple’s ordinance hall (called Ubosot in the local language) or the pagoda. The best places to witness Maka Bucha Day observances in the Thai capital are the Marble Temple (Wat Benjamabopit) and the Golden Mount Temple where priests from the Wat Saket Temple head the procession towards the mount. The candlelight parades are known as Vein Tien in Thailand.

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