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Phuket Custom & Ceremony, Phuket Tour Travel
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The life of People: Birth
New born babies are believed to be under the care of certain spirit. If he is smiling and laughing euring his sleep, a spirit may be playing with him. If he is not well and cries a lot, the spirits may be punishing him. If he is “naughty” and does not during his sleep, a spirit may be playing with him. If he is not well and cries a lot, the spirits may be punishing him. If he is “naughty” and does not sleep during his usual rest hour, it may be because he is taken care of by a monday spirit on that day. If he sleeps well and is nice and calm, then it is a hermit spirit who takes care of him.
When the baby is one month old, there is a small celebration in the home. In the old days, relative and friends were invited to a big feast, especially if the baby was boy.
Today, there are no longer big feast, but homage to ancestors at home is still performed. This is a way of introducing a new member of the family to the ancestors’ spirits. Certain dishes are prepared to worship the ancestors and distributed to relatives and friends to announce that a baby is born to the family. The usual dishes are Iew peung, which is glutinous rice cooked with pork and dry shrimps, boiled eggs that are stained red and cake made from glutinous rice flour moulded in the the shape of totoises with filling made from mungbean paste. People such food normally return the plate with some money gift wrapped in red paper, uncooded rice and a few fresh eggs to wish the newborn baby good luck.
The ritual starts when relative and friends gather at the appointed time either at the temple or the home of the candidate for ordination and help cut hair. Later, the candidate has his hair, eyebrows and moustache shaved and is dress in white. At this point of time, the candidate is still called a nag in Thai. The word nag cames form naga in Sanskrt meaning a mythological serpent.
The ordination ceremony is performed in front of an assembly of at least ten senior monks in the main chapel or the Ubosot at an suspicious time. In the ordination hall, the candidate sits in front of an assembly of senior monks. A monk by whom he is to be ordinated asks him questions in the Pali language, which is the language of scriptures, to find out if he is qualified to enter the monk hood. If all answers are satisfactory, he is first accepted as a novice. Then he goes out to dress himself in the saffron robe and come back to the assembly of monks.
Marriage: The First Approach
In Phuket, the marriage custom is in fact a combination of the Thai and Chinese. In the old days, when a man reached the right age, his parents would look for a girl for him. An ideal girl would not only be beautiful but also well-behaved and good at housework. An elderly lady who khew both the boy’s and the girl’s families would be asked by the boy’s parents to approach the girl’s parents. It must be noted that the approach must always be made by the boy’s family and never the reverse. Then the girl’s parents would take the horoscopes of both the boy and the girl to a professional horoscope reader to find if they matched.
Now days, boys and girls usually find their own mates. Yet, when they decide to get married, they still bring their horoscopes to consult a professional to find an auspicious day for the engagement and the wedding.
Thai wedding can be arranged by the major hotels, restaurant and tour operators in Phuket, check at their website in the hotel list or tour operators list. Every year, in the month of August, to celebrate her majestic of The Queen Sirikit, The Women Association of Phuket organizes group Wedding at a very low cost. The ceremony will be Held at Satri Phuket School (Phuket Grils’ School)
Holiest Days for Buddhists
Magha Puja
Magha Puja is the Buddhists’ “All Saints’ Day”
It falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month. It commemorates the day when the Buddha’s1250 disciples came form different places and directions to pay homage to the Buddha without prior summons. All those disciples had been ordinated by the Buddha himself and had attained Archantaship. On this occasion, the Buddha preached the principle doctrines of Buddhism, which were the purification of the mind, generosity and kindness.
Visakha Puja
Visakha Puja is the most important day for Buddhists because it commemorates the Birth, the Enlightenment and the Passing into Nirvana
Upon the Death to the Buddha. It falls on the Full moon day of the sixth lunar month.
Asarnha Puja
Asarnha Puja falls on the full moon day of the eight lunar month. It commemorates the occasion when the Buddha delivered his first sermons two months after became enlightened to his first five disciples in a deer park in Benares. His first sermon is called Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, represent by a wheel or the Dhammacakka with a deer underneath. Magha Puja, Visakha Puja and Asarnha Puja are among important Buddhist holy days. These three days are also national holidays. In the morning, people go to their temple to offer food to the monks and listen to sermons. In the evening, they go to the temple again for religious ceremonies.
They bring with them flowers, joss sticks and candles. The forst pray and praise the triple gems, which are the Buddha, His Teaching and the Buddhist Order. Then, a senior monk, usually the abbot of the temple, delivers sermons and lead people in a long procession to walk clockwise three times around the main shrine or the chapel. Concentrating on the Triple geme, people follow the monks with flowers, lighted joss sticks and candles between their palms. On the last trip around the chapel, they place the flowers, joss sticks and candles on a altar in front of a Buddha image. Tourists are able to join the evening ceremony at all temples near to your hotel (free of accepted), the ceremony will start from approximate 7.00 p.m. (check with your tour Guide or at the hotel for Starting time and how to get to the nearest temple)
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