Buddhist Lent Day in Saraburi

Wan Khao Phansa – Buddhist Lent Day – marks the beginning of the 3 month long Buddhist Lent Period. During this time monks are to stay in their temples and spend their time devoted to study and meditation. It is also a time when other Buddhists spend much of their time making merit.

Tak Bat Dok Mai Festival in Saraburi Buddhist Lent Day

Buddhist Lent Day is a public holiday and is celebrated all over Thailand. This year it is on the 16th of July. In Ubon Ratchatani they have their famous Candle Festival and in Saraburi they have the festival of Tak Bat Dok Mai.

Tak Bat Dok Mai

This festival is unique to the province of Saraburi. It lasts for 3 days with villagers making merit by offering flowers in addition to the usual offerings of rice, food, candles and other things to the monks.

The flowers are called Dok Khao Pansa and they bloom only around the time of the Buddhist Lent. They are also only growing in Saraburi Province.

Tak Bat Dok Mai has been held at Wat Phra Phutta Bat – the home of Buddha’s Left Footprint – for a long time. It has become widely popular with the people of Saraburi and attracts visitors from around the world.  Many of them come to get their “Teab” stamped, which is like a passport to heaven.

Tak Bat Dok Mai Buddhist Lent Day in Saraburi

Tak Bat Dok Mai is one of the most important cultural heritages of the region. Visitors during the festival will not only get to see Buddhist Rituals like making merit, but they will also be entertained by traditional folk games, contests and cultural performances.

During the first day of the festival for example there is a re-enactment of the celebrations when the Buddha’s Left Footprint was discovered during the reign of King Songtham.

There are many things happening around Thailand on Buddhist Lent Day but few are more spectacular than the  Tak Bat Dok Mai festival at Wat Phra Phuttha Bat.