Krabi Vegetarian Festival 2023

Known by locals as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, Krabi Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. More than 70 shrines in the province will gather in front of Krabi's city hall to let the locals and tourists pay homage to the Buddha, and then witness the parade of gods and spiritualists of the sanctuaries through the streets of city centre. It is believed that the festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who participate and those who religiously observe this rite. Although its origins are Taoist, the Nine Emperor Gods Festival has slowly been incorporated into Thai Buddhism and currently is held in all areas with a Chinese history; however it is in the Bangkok’s Chinatown, Phuket, Trang and Krabi where the festival is most famous. This is a time when participants will abstain from eating meat, seafood and dairy produce. Some will make a token effort for a day or two before falling off the ‘vegetarian wagon’ but true devotees will also abstain from sex, alcohol, gambling and will not use bad language as they purify body and mind.