Yala Thai-Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year

Yala Thai-Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year

Tanakorn Sangiam

YALA (NNT) - Yala‘s Thai-Chinese community today observed religious rites to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Ox, with preventative measures against COVID-19 in place at public places.

At Yala City Pillar Shrine, Thai-Chinese villagers in the province today wearing traditional attire in auspicious red, arrived to pay their respects to the Chao Por Lak Muang, a god revered by the people in Yala province, for their good fortune in the new year.

They came here to pray for happiness, prosperity, luck, and health for themselves and their family. They then make merit by feeding fish inside the pound surrounding the shrine.

Owner of a nearby flower shop said the number of people going out this year is fewer than in previous years, as COVID-19 measures may have prevented people living elsewhere to come home.

With today declared a special national holiday, some Thai-Chinese families are taking this long weekend to make trips outside of their province.

Yala Provincial Public Health Office is recommending that members of the public practice protective measures against COVID-19 while observing Chinese New Year rituals, by always wearing a mask, even when talking to family members at home, make separate portions when dining and always use their own cutlery, never share water glasses, refrain from handling food and ice bare handed, and limit talking at the dining table.