This is a video footage of what happened at the Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016, Day One…
Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016, Day One Summary
Day one is the Lantern Pole Raising which is the first major event of the vegetarian festival and signifies the start of the celebrations. All shrines do participate in this so don’t worry about finding the best one, a visit to your local shrine on the first day won’t disappoint. During the raising of the lantern pole devotees will light candles and incense as well as firecrackers to cleanse the temples and welcome the gods.
Another large part of the Day One ritual is the 3 rituals called The Heavenly Warriors Releasing Ritual, The Jade Emperor God and the Nine Emperor Gods Invitation:
– The Heavenly Warriors Ritual is said to release the demon and orphaned souls so they may climb the ladder of merit that leads to heaven.
– Next is The Jade Emperor God ritual which takes place in the compounds of the shrines and signifies that the Jade Emperor God is the head of the Taoist Pantheon.
– The final part of the first day is The Nine Emperor Gods Invitation Ritual which is usually conducted on seashore or near large body of water where two wooden kidney-shaped blocks are thrown into the water to see if the Nine Emperor Gods have descended from heaven. The spirits are said to inhabit their incense urn which is then placed in a secluded back room at the shrine for the duration of the festival, throughout which only the master and his assistant are permitted to enter the room.
So this is what you can expect during the first day of the very unusual yet intriguing Vegetarian Festival or, as it is known in Chinese (and I hope you understand why now) The Nine Emperor Gods Festival.
Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2016 Videos:
For more information about this popular Phuket festival you may read our blog article Phuket Vegetarian Festival