Thetsagan Sart
Encyclopedia
Sat Thai is a traditional Thai
mid-year festival, held on the new moon at the end of the tenth lunar month
. It has many features of animism
, attributing soul
s or spirit
s to animal
s, plant
s and other entities.
, which means autumnal. It specifically refers to the season
"when the grain is in the ear": rice grain panicles droop as seed reaches full size and fills with milky starch in the days before harvest time. Fruits also are in the bud.
Sat Thai is known as such to differentiate it from the Ghost Festival
, known in Thai as Sat Chin.
Moon 10, that is, waning day 15, evening . This is a New Moon and so is a Buddhist Sabbath
; but not one of the Special Sabbaths, and not one of the secular public holidays in Thailand
. It occurs midway past the traditional Thai New Year
and near the autumnal equinox. It an occasion for making merit by honoring ( buucha) the spirits of the season, as well as one's deceased relatives, according to local tradition
, with various rite
s and ceremonies
.
and some Thais. It appears on calendars as "Begin 9-day vegetarian festival" (roem thet-sa-gan kin-che 9 wan) — kin-che is to vow in the manner of Vietnamese or Chinese Buddhists to eat a strict vegetarian diet.)
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
mid-year festival, held on the new moon at the end of the tenth lunar month
Thai lunar calendar
The Thai lunar calendar , or Dai calendar , Tai calendar, is Thailand's version of the lunisolar Buddhist calendar used in the southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Burma, for calculating lunar-regulated holy days...
. It has many features of animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
, attributing soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s or spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s to animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s and other entities.
Etymology
Sat ( or , RTGS 'Sat') comes from PaliPáli
- External links :* *...
, which means autumnal. It specifically refers to the season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
"when the grain is in the ear": rice grain panicles droop as seed reaches full size and fills with milky starch in the days before harvest time. Fruits also are in the bud.
Sat Thai is known as such to differentiate it from the Ghost Festival
Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries...
, known in Thai as Sat Chin.
Observance
Sat Thai Day occurs at the end of Thai lunar calendarThai lunar calendar
The Thai lunar calendar , or Dai calendar , Tai calendar, is Thailand's version of the lunisolar Buddhist calendar used in the southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos and Burma, for calculating lunar-regulated holy days...
Moon 10, that is, waning day 15, evening . This is a New Moon and so is a Buddhist Sabbath
Uposatha
The Uposatha is Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time , and still being kept today in Buddhist countries. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy...
; but not one of the Special Sabbaths, and not one of the secular public holidays in Thailand
Public holidays in Thailand
Public holidays in Thailand are regulated by the government, and most are observed by both the public and private sectors. There are usually sixteen public holidays in a year, but more may be declared by the cabinet. Since 1996, if a holiday falls on a weekend, the following workday is observed as...
. It occurs midway past the traditional Thai New Year
Thai New Year
The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia....
and near the autumnal equinox. It an occasion for making merit by honoring ( buucha) the spirits of the season, as well as one's deceased relatives, according to local tradition
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
, with various rite
Rite
A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:* rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as marriage, baptism, or graduation....
s and ceremonies
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
.
Beginning of the Vegetarian Festival
Sat Thai Day usually corresponds with the beginning of the nine-day Vegetarian Festival, which is widely observed by Thai ChineseThai Chinese
The Thai Chinese are an overseas Chinese community who live in Thailand. Thailand is home to the largest, oldest, most prominent, and most integrated overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approximately 9.5 million people...
and some Thais. It appears on calendars as "Begin 9-day vegetarian festival" (roem thet-sa-gan kin-che 9 wan) — kin-che is to vow in the manner of Vietnamese or Chinese Buddhists to eat a strict vegetarian diet.)
See also
- Public holidays in ThailandPublic holidays in ThailandPublic holidays in Thailand are regulated by the government, and most are observed by both the public and private sectors. There are usually sixteen public holidays in a year, but more may be declared by the cabinet. Since 1996, if a holiday falls on a weekend, the following workday is observed as...
- Mid-Autumn FestivalMid-Autumn FestivalThe Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou...
- LughnasadhLughnasadhLughnasadh is a traditional Gaelic holiday celebrated on 1 August. It is in origin a harvest festival, corresponding to the Welsh Calan Awst and the English Lammas.-Name:...
Celtic festival with many similar traditions