Tomorrow, 17 May 2011 is Visakha Bucha day, falling on the full moon of the sixth Lunar month it is the most important holiday in the Buddhist calendar. This auspicious day marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of Lord Buddha. In observence of this day, Buddhists are expected to observe the following
- * ‘Tam Boon’: Making merit, going to temples, listening to sermons and making donations.
- * Keeping the Five Precepts of Buddhism, including abstinence from alcohol, killing animals, and all kinds of immoral acts.
- * Offering food or alms to the monks.
- * Practice meditation and mental displine.
In Chiang Mai tradition is for the people to walk up the mountain to What Phra Tat Doi Suthep, the famous temple on the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. The procession starts at night time on 16th May with the aim of completing the 9Km ascent before day break. On reaching the top Buddhists walk three times around the golden Stupa containing the holy relics, before heading down the mountain. With thousands of participants it can be a crowded but fun affair.
The sale of Alcohol is prohibited from midnight on Monday 16th, until midnight on 17th, though with so many people partaking in the procession to Doi Suteph many bars and venues will already be closed or very quiet on the Monday night and certainly closed on Tuesday.
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