Nine Emperor Gods Festival

Nine Emperor Gods Festival
During the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, streets are filled with food stalls offering vegan Thai and Chinese food, e.g. buns and dim sums with mushrooms.
Official nameVegetarian Festival or Jay Festival
Observed byTaoists
SignificanceTo commemorate to honour the gods on a large scale for nine days
CelebrationsPraying, eating pure vegan food
ObservancesOffering food, burning joss paper, chanting of scriptures
Date1st night of the 9th lunar month

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Min Nan Chinese: 九皇爺誕; Malay: Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; Thai: เทศกาลกินเจ, เทศกาลกินผัก (ภาคใต้ประเทศไทย) ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, celebrated primarily in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Southern Thailand by the Peranakans community. In Thailand, this festival is called thetsakan kin che (เทศกาลกินเจ), the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout Thailand, with the festivities at their height in Phuket, where over the half of the population is Peranakans. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed.[1][2] The Vegetarian Festival takes place at the same time as the Hindu festival Navaratri.[3]

Nine Emperor Gods Festival
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese九皇爺誕
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJiǔhuángyé Dàn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationGáuwòhngyèh Daan
Southern Min
Hokkien POJKáu-hông-iâ Tàn
Thai name
Thaiเทศกาลกินเจ
RTGSThetsakan Kinche
Malay name
MalayPerayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa
ڤراياءن سمبيلن مهاراج ديوا
  1. ^ Mason, Sam (2022-09-05). "When is the best time to visit Thailand?". The Travel Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  2. ^ Levy, Cynthia (2022-03-30). "The Most Colorful Festivals Worth Attending In Thailand". TheTravel. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  3. ^ Lin, Tsen Ee (2021-10-07). "Celebrating Navaratri and the Nine Emperor Gods festival". Free Malaysia Today.