Chak Phra festival marks end of lent

The boat carrying the Buddha's statue was decorated by folk art craftsmen who live near Songkhla Lake. A huge number of people took part in the festival.

Chak Phra is an annual Buddhist festival celebrated in southern Thailand. The name means “pulling the Buddha”, “pulling Buddhist monks”, or “pulling the ceremonial Buddha image carriage”.

Chak Phra takes place on the first day of the waning moon of the 11th lunar month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar, hence the dates of the festival differ each year. As per the Gregorian calendar, this usually falls in the month of October.

The festival is celebrated in two ways -- by carrying a Buddha statue on land, or on the river -- depending on the location of the local temple.