Tak Bat Devo and Chak Phra Festivals
There is a Buddhist myth that during one Rains Retreat or “Khao Phansa” Lord Buddha went to haven to deliver a sermon to his mother who died after giving birth to Lord Buddha (then Prince Siddharatha) and was born again in heaven. The sermon given was said to last for the entire period of the Rains Retreat (3 months).

Upon completing his mission in heaven, Lord Buddha then returned  to earth and was greeted by a crowd of his disciples and followers. To commemorate this event, two public festivals are held, namely;the “Tak Bat Devo” in the central region and the “Chak Phra” in the south. Both portray the event of Lord Buddha’s  to earth and annually take place immediately after the end of the 3-month Rains Retreat. However,the celebration of these two festivals may be different in its preparation and practices. In other words Tak Bat Devo means “offering of food to Buddhist monks”. The celebration is an imitation of Lord Buddha’s descent from heaven. Thus, a high place such as the hill is preferably used as a starting point, the Golden Mount of Wat Sraket  in Bangkok is a good example of this. But for the temple built far away from the hill, the consecrated assembly hall (or Uposatha)can also  be used as a starting point.

When all is ready, the row of Buddhist monks, headed by the image of standing Buddha carried by men representing God Indra  and God Brahma, will move slowly along the path arranged in advance.People then offer a variety of food and fruit to the passing monks. The rite ends when the last monk in the row finishes the entire route.

Meanwhile , Chak Phra literally means “pulling of the Buddhist monks” and it is celebrated in many southern provinces such as Nakhon Si Thammarat Pattani, Phatthalung, Songkhla and Yala. The most impressive Chak Phra festival is on the Tapi River in Surat Thani Province. To mark this occasion, two float-pulling ceremonies are held, one on land and the other on wather. On land, the splendidly adorned floats are pulled across the town by the participants of the ceremony. At the same time, on water, the ceremony is highlighted by a float decorated in colorful Thai design of a float made for a religious  ceremony. On the following day, the float carrying the Buddha image is towed along the river so that people can worship and make merit. Both land and river events are highly colourful. The Chak Phra festival then concludes with an exciting  boat race and a traditional game.