My Favorite Thai Holiday
My favorite Thai holiday usually happens in the first or second week of May. Its date is based on astrology. Its official name is the Royal Plowing Day Ceremony. Early in the morning, people in traditional Thai clothing with some of them holding Thai farmer tools and equipment, stand in a field behind a Buddhist temple in Bangkok. One of them holds a cow. They then walk in a circle at least 9 (a lucky Thai number) times. The cow is then presented with a bowl of food. If he eats the food, it will be a good harvest. If he doesn’t like the food, it will be a bad harvest. All this presided over by the King or the highest-ranking Royal family member available. The Crown Prince was presiding over the ceremony in 2010. The ceremony takes about 2 hours to do. I am an American and I can say that it reminds me of the silliness of Goundhog Day in the United States. I also don’t think it is possible that animals can predict the weather. Humans can barely predict the weather even with high tech tools at their disposal. I will try to respect the traditions in the future,