Festival of the Tenth Lunar Month in (11/10/2015)

Each year, in the 10th lunar month, usually around September and October, a major cultural event is held in southern , especially Nakhon Si Thammarat province.

The Tenth Lunar Month Festival involves merit-making to show respect and gratitude to the local peoples deceased ancestors. This year, Nakhon Si Thammarat holds the Tenth Lunar Month Festival between 6 and 15 October, but the highlight of this festival takes place from 10 to 13 October.

On this occasion, the family members living far from their hometowns visit their families to make merit in memory of their ancestors. Legend has it that during the 10th lunar month, the souls of deceased ancestors are freed from the other world to visit their relatives in the human world.

Nakhon Si Thammarat residents take this opportunity to prepare offerings not only for their deceased ancestors, but also for other spirits and Buddhist monks. The offerings consist of different kinds of food placed on beautifully decorated trays.

Participants in the merit-making ceremony join a procession carrying trays of offerings from the town hall to Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, the main Buddhist temple of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The colorful procession attracts both local residents and tourists. Other activities are also held, such as a trade fair, exhibitions, and cultural performances.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is the largest province in , in terms of population (more than 1.5 million in 2014). It is the second largest province in the South, after Surat Thani, in terms of land area. Nakhon Si Thammarat is also one of the most ancient cities in Southeast Asia. Local peoples way of life is closely associated with Buddhist religious activities.

Although merit-making, as part of the Tenth Lunar Month Festival, is held at all temples in this province, Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan is the focal point of this event. This temple was endorsed on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the cultural category on 21 June 2013.

The main of the temple, called Phra Borommathat Chedi, literally, the Great Noble Relics Stupa, was built prior to other religious architectural buildings in the temple. It is Nakhon Si Thammarats most revered religious structure, where relics of the Buddha are enshrined. This large bell-shaped stupa was directly inspired by Sri Lankan Buddhist art, and it has become a place of interest in this province.

After the main stupa and its religious edifices of the temple were established, it is known that during that time Nakhon Si Thammarat was the center of the both intellectual and artistic practices. According to the first Inscription of the , Nakhon Si Thammarat had a powerful influence on the strength of the Theravada belief and practice in the Sukhothai Kingdom, including the architectural tradition of the building.

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