Vegetarian Festival in Thailand Kicks Off Today

Thailand’s annual Vegetarian Festival will be returning to cities throughout the country starting today and going through October 3. Held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, the event’s traditions include street processions, sacred rituals, religious ceremonies, and bountiful vegetarian food carts marked with yellow flags. Traditionally, participants dress in white for the festival’s duration, as well as abstain from sex, drinking alcohol, and consuming pungent vegetables such as garlic, onions, coriander, and chives. It is believed that those who attend the festival and observe its sacred rituals will receive good fortune and attain purity. The event is believed to have started in 1825 and draws hundreds of thousands of attendees throughout the country.