Merry Christmas Thai style

Posted by admin on December 20th, 2009 filed in Andaman Coast, Bangkok, Culture & customs, Expat life, Island life, Living here, People, Politics, The North, Top attractions, Travel destinations, Understanding Thais, Up Country, Visiting

Thailand is not known for its Christmas celebrations, but there is a traditional but still usual event taking place this year in Sakhon Nakhon, in the northeast of the country. For hundreds of children in a tiny village called Tha Rae Christmas Eve has a special significance.

The devout Christian settlement, of people originally descending from Vietnam, celebrate the day vehemently. An estimated 50,000 Catholics will parade through the village for the Stars of David festivities with nativity scenes put on in a genuine context rather than a tourist attraction.

Carol singers and line-up of star performers then descend for an evening concert that adds to the unique Christmas atmosphere with stalls and booths in the street-sides and open-air dining. Villagers all decorate their houses with stars to symbolise the reason behind the festival, and these stay up for the entire season.

Home to a Catholic Seminary, where priests are trained and ordained, the village is filled with Vietnamese Diaspora who settling here after a hurried migration west away from troubled times and persecution. St Michael the Archangel Cathedral is the focal point for religious leaders who guide a flock which extends past Sakhon Nakhon to neighbouring Mukdahan, Kalasin and Nakhon Phanom provinces.

Many people will visit Tha Rae to witness the Star of David festivities. Tha Rae, on the northern shore of Nong Han lake, is just off highway 22 and a popular spot for fishing.