Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival, Isan, Northeast Thailand From Wikipedia: “The Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival, the most elaborate of the traditional parading of candles to wats (Thai: แห่เทียน, romanized: hae thian), is held in Ubon Ratchathani, Isan, Thailand, around the days of Asanha Puja (which commemorates the Buddha's first sermon) and Wan Kao Pansa (which marks the beginning of vassa). At the start of the Lenten period, it is traditional in preparation for the rainy season for the devout to donate to items for the personal use of monks, and of candles to dispel gloom in their quarters and elsewhere within the wat. The latter is often the core event of many village celebrations, but is at its most elaborate in the Ubon Ratchathani version, which nowadays is a major event both for residents and for tourists: giant candles are paraded through the town, each representing a local temple, district or other institution. The more elaborate versions are accompanied by scenes of Hindu and Buddhist mythology sculpted in wood or plaster and coated with wax. Of course, these candles are never burned.” I wanted to share with you what the festival was like but most of my photos of the event didn’t survive so I turned to Wikipedia Commons for Creative Commons Images and found these two. The even is colorful and the participants in the parade portion of the event are dressed in the traditional attire of the region known as Isan. There is also dancing and music. I witnessed this back in 1980, forty years ago, and it’s still vivid in my memory. #UbonRatchathani #UbonRatchathaniCandleFestival #IsanCulture #NortheastThailand #BuddhistLent #ThaiWats #BuddhistWat #BbuddhistTemple #CandleFestival https://www.instagram.com/p/CHhPbNWl2XL/?igshid=1tjpx9mje8p08