1st Sart Festival (Kanben) or Merit Making Transference at Wat Greensboro

We celebrated 1st Sart Thai Festival at Wat Greensboro on Sunday, September 18, 2016. The temple called it small Sart day, and the big Sart day will be in 2 weeks. Sart day is a Buddhist tradition where it’s a memorial day for the dead, it is a time to remember dead relatives and merit making on their behalves. This is a belief that once a year the hell gates open for 15 days for the deceased ancestors to visit their living relatives. Lao people called it Boun Kao Padap Din where the Laotians also believe that once a year the hell gates open for souls in hell to come visit the living world. People would leave foods around the temple gates or under big trees as offering to the spirits.

Almsgiving

Foods offering to the monks.

Please see more photos at Wat Greensboro’s Facebook 1st Sart Festival (Kanben) or Merit Making Transference

Songkran Festival 2016 at Wat Greensboro

We celebrated a Southeast Asian New Year at our local temple Wat Greensboro last Sunday April 17, 2016. The celebration was later than the actual New Year celebration which was celebrated on April 13 to the 15th in Southeast Asia, it’s celebrated for 3 days.

Cups of sand were prepared for Jaydee Cide or sand stupas.

There were plenty of foods brought in by worshipers to offer to the monks.

The traditional morning Almsgiving of offering foods to the monks.

The vendors were busy, many food vendors donated their profits to the temple.

It’s a tradition to visit your elders and pour water over their hands and wish them good health and happiness for the New Year and this year we took the opportunity to do it at the temple. It’s nice to be able to pass down the tradition to the younger generations.

I’m always behind the camera and this time my sister offered to take the picture for me. I’m glad I handed her my camera, this image is priceless.

We also pour water over Buddha images for blessing and cleansing the rust from our hearts and souls and wish a good year of health and prosperity.

The traditional Khmer dancers.

I normally don’t do a video without my tripod and my reading glasses but I don’t think that still photos will do justice. The video is a bit shaky and not as sharp as I like for it to be, hope you will enjoy watching these young dancers.

Please visit Wat Greensboro’s Facebook to see more photos of Songkran Festival 2016.

Songkran Festival 2015 at Wat Greensboro

We celebrated a Southeast Asian New Year at our local temple Wat Greensboro last Sunday April 19, 2015. It rained in our area, traveling to the temple was difficult and by the time we got there it amazed us that there’s not a drop of rain and the temple is only 1 hour and 30 minutes by car ride from us. We had a good turnout.

The Cassia Fistula L. or the Golden Shower Trees are in bloom during the Songkran festival in Laos and Thailand, and in the US the temple is decorated with the pink Azalea flowers, the flowers that are in season during Songkran in our area.

One of our temple greeters.

For most of us when we built the Jaydee Cide or sand stupas we made a wish and donated the good merits for our deceased family members, and as for us it was for our mom. Some might wish for a year of good health and prosperity, I wonder how many people remember the symbolic of the Jaydee Cide, how many people remember the story of Kabinlaphom and his seven daughters Nang Sangkaan?

Songkran is the traditional Lao and Thai New Year also called the Water Splashing Festival. It’s too cold to splash water in our area, and we pour water over Buddha images for blessing and cleansing the rust from our hearts and souls and wish a good year of health and prosperity.

The food vendors were busy, especially the Spicy Papaya vendor.

The traditional morning Almsgiving offering food to the monks.

The traditional Khmer dancers.

Please visit Wat Greensboro’s Facebook to see more photos of Songkran Festival 2015.