 Phra
Samut Chedi Worship Fair This is the great
fair for which people from all over the country
come to worship the revered chedi. The fair is
held annually for 9 days and 9 nights, starting
from the fifth day of the waning moon in the eleventh
month of the lunar calendar. During the festival,
there are contests held for the best-looking procession
in presenting the cloth to cover the Phra Samut
Chedi. The procession will be run through the
streets around the Pak Nam Market, then be brought
onto boats going down the Chao Phraya River until
it reaches the Phra Pradaeng District Office and
return to Ong Phra Samut Chedi. There are also
the walk around the Phra Samut Chedi (wian tian
– walk, while holding lighted candles, around
a temple), boat racing in the Chao Phraya River,
local entertainments, and many local products
on sale. Getting there: from Samut Prakan town
to Phra Samut Chedi, there are daily boat ferries
in front of Wibunsri Market around the clock.
Pak Lat Songkran Fair
(Phra Pradaeng) It is held yearly on the
first Sunday after Songkran Day (April 13th).
The townspeople in cooperation with Amphoe Mueang
Phra Pradaeng celebrate the Songkran Day according
to the local Songkran Festival of Raman (Mon)
people. Songkran beauty pageants parade, freeing
birds and fish, and traditional folk entertainment
such as Saba (a pitch and toss game), Thayaemon
(a musical composition of Mon) and Mon dancing
are included in this fair.
Yon Bua Festival is a
festival which goes back a long, long time
for the Bang Phli people and which have been
followed by generations after one another. It
is held yearly on the thirteenth day and the
early morning of the fourteenth day of the waxing
moon in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar.
The festival consists of worshipping and parading
of Luang Pho To, both on land and by boat, competitions
of local activities such as arranging a lotus
tray, boat decoration contests, and folk entertainments
such as Phleng Rua (traditional singing in boats).
In the early morning of the fourteenth day,
the Yon Bua Festival is held, people will toss
lotus onto the boat bearing the Luang Pho To
Buddha image. They also toss lotus to the people
from out of town in boats who also come to join
in the festival as a sign of making merit together.
Luang Pho Pan Worship
Fair It is the Bang Bo people’s annual fair,
held on the eighth day of the waxing moon in
the twelfth month of the lunar calendar to commemorate
and celebrate Luang Pho Pan’s virtue.
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