Phuket Vegetarian Festival starts with elbow grease

Phuket Gazette

Devotees clean a deity statue in preparation for the Vegetarian Festival. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

All the pots and pans also got a good scrub before being considered pure enough to be used. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Devotees at three shrines in Phuket began their preparation for the Vegetarian Festival with smiles and elbow grease as they gave the shrines a thorough cleaning yesterday.

The cleaning started at 7am at Jui Tui Shrine, Pud Jor Shrine and Bang Neaw Shrine in Phuket Town.

Students from Bang Neaw Municipality School joined other locals in cleaning the Bang Neaw Shrine and altar.

Tables, chairs, joss stick pots, candlesticks and musical instruments to be used in the upcoming processions were cleaned at all three shrines. In the kitchen, the pots, pans and kitchen utensils were also scrubbed and prepared for the strictly vegan diet upheld during the nine-day event, which begins on Sunday.

After the cleaning, the shrine committees prepared dry goods, joss sticks, candles and traditional sheets of Chinese gold and silver paper, as well as donation boxes.

At 8:09pm, the Jui Tui Shrine conducted the "warriors propitiation ceremony".

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This year it will run from October 15 to 23.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle19148.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-10-12

All this pot and tool cleaning frenzie reminds me of an old Muslim friend for whom - when he came round to a BBQ - I had to use a separate section of the grill and separate tools for serving him with the non-pork meat.

Have to confess that I mixed up the serving tolls several times without him noticing, but to the best of my knowledge he is still alive and well.