However, the
celebration of these two festivals may be different in its preparation and
practices. In other words. is an imitation of Lord Buddha's descent from heaven.
Thus, a high place such as the hill is preferably used as a starting point, the
Golden Mount of Wat srakat in Bangkok is a good example of this. But for the
temple built far away from the hill, the consecrated assembly hall (or Uposatha)
can also be used as a starting point.
When all is ready, the row of Buddhist monks
headed by the image of a standing Buddha carried by men representing God Indra
and God Brahma, will move slowly along the path arranged in advance. People the
offer a variety of food and fruit to the passing monks. The rite ends when the
last monk in the row finishes the entire route.
Meanwhile, Chak Pra literally means
"pulling of the Buddhist monks" and it is celebrated in many southern
provinces such as Nakhon Si Thamarat, Pattani, Phatthalung, Songkhla and Yala.
The most impressive Chak Phra festival is on the Tapi River in Surat Thani
Province. To mark this occasion, two float-pulling ceremonies are held, one on
land and the other on water. On land, the splendidly adorned floats are pulled
across the town by the participants of the ceremony. At the same time, on
water, the ceremony in highlighted by float decorated in colorful Thai design of
the float made to carry the Buddha image. This float is then towed to the
middle of the river for a religious ceremony. On the following day, the float
carrying the Buddha image to towed along the river so that people can worship
and make merit. Both land and river events are highly colorful. The Chak Phra
festival the concludes with an exciting boat race and traditional game.
