Chinese banquet in a cemetery
Thais are known to live and breathe merit-making – it’s an essential part of retaining good karma and ensuring that those departed are well taken care of.
Recently, a family of Buddhists hired professional catering service to provide a Chinese banquet for all the souls residing in a Phetchaburi cemetery. As there has never been such a thing before, locals take turns visiting to see the unprecedented event.
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Merit making in Thailand
While it is common to offer food to spirits in Thailand, never before was there an offering that takes up an entire cemetery.
The host, Dr. Thanaphon Wannachot, had set up the Chinese banquet in order to fulfill his late mother’s wish to treat a cemetery full of lost souls, according to Mumkhao. After selecting a cemetery, he had reached out to a dinner service called Toa Jin Keng Phochana whom – surprisingly – accepted his special request.
Image credit: นักข่าว เมืองชล
At the venue, a total of 36 tables stood on the grassy plains of the cemetery while the host and his family participated in a ritual of merit making.
Image credit: นักข่าว เมืองชล
Behind them, giant plates of Thai dishes sat on top of the tables awaiting the hungry spirits.
Image credit: นักข่าว เมืองชล
After sundown, the place soon turned eerie, leading the staff of the dinner service to start feeling chills down their spines as described by Mr. Ekkaluk Undee, the owner of the catering service, reported on Matichon.
Image credit: นักข่าว เมืองชล
Not long after, however, a rescue team in the area visited the site after hearing about this rare event, which helped lighten up the atmosphere. Locals also came by one after another to witness the event for themselves.
At the end of the ceremony, the offered food was distributed to both the host family and the locals for further merit.
Only in Thailand
While strange things do occur around the world, it is probably only in Thailand that you will find news about a party dinner in a cemetery full of stranger’s spirits.
More on Thai culture:
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- Things Thais do to avoid CNY misfortune
Cover images adapted from: นักข่าว เมืองชล
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