Overseas Vietnamese in Thailand pray for peace on the occasion of the Thuong Nguyen Festival

Overseas Vietnamese in Thailand attend the Thuong Nguyen Tet prayer ceremony - one of the important New Year worship rituals in Vietnamese culture.

On the morning of February 24 - the full moon day of the first lunar month of the year of the Dragon, the Vietnamese pagoda named Canh Phuoc in Bangkok (Thailand) held a ceremony to pray for peace on the occasion of the Thuong Nguyen New Year.

The event was organized by the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Association in Bangkok and surrounding areas with the desire to strengthen the spirit of solidarity and mutual love in the community towards the good cultural values of the homeland - according to VNA.

From early morning, many members of the Women's Committee of the Vietnamese Association in Bangkok and neighboring areas were present at the temple to prepare for the ceremony. Under the guidance of Venerable Ong Ta, many overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese people living and studying in Thailand sincerely chanted prayers for national peace, people's peace, and people's prosperity and happiness in the new year.

Sharing at the ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loi - Head of the Women's Committee of the Vietnamese Association in Bangkok and surrounding areas - said that the peace-praying ceremony on the 15th day of the first lunar month is a beautiful traditional cultural and spiritual feature of every Vietnamese person, still preserved by overseas Vietnamese in Thailand.

She expressed her joy that the ceremony was highly appreciated and fully supported by the monks. Through the ceremony, the people also learned more about the pagoda and took responsibility for building the pagoda to be sustainable and spacious.

Through the Vietnamese Student Association in Thailand, many international students also learned about the ceremony held at the temple and attended in the joy of the New Year.

Student Bui Thi Thu Huong of Kasetsart University said she was very happy to decorate and arrange the Buddha offering tray with overseas Vietnamese.

Pham Thuy Hoang - a graduate student at Mahidol University - shared her happiness at meeting Vietnamese uncles and aunts and international students.

“This is also a big holiday in Vietnam. I came to burn incense and pray for everyone to be safe and everything to go smoothly. The students will achieve the best results,” said Thuy Hoang.

On the occasion of the ceremony held at Canh Phuoc Pagoda, the Executive Committee of the Vietnamese Association in Bangkok and surrounding areas, together with a large number of overseas Vietnamese, respectfully donated about 35,000 baht (nearly 25 million VND) for the pagoda to continue to renovate and preserve the pagoda. The monk presiding over the ceremony hoped that Buddhists would promote compassion, be more united and continue to support the pagoda's Buddhist activities.

After the ceremony, Buddhists and attendees enjoyed dishes prepared by overseas Vietnamese from Bangkok and surrounding areas and enjoyed the pure Vietnamese atmosphere in the temple grounds.

Scene of the peace praying ceremony. Photo: VNA

Wat Samananamboriharn is one of the seven Vietnamese temples in Bangkok. It is located at 416 Luk-luang Road, Mahanak Ward, Dusit District, Bangkok.

According to many documents told by overseas Vietnamese, Venerable Bao An (1906-1964), whose real name was Nguyen Van Bao, was the first monk to preside over this pagoda. During the nine-year long resistance war against French colonialism, the pagoda was a gathering place and Venerable Bao An was the information hub for revolutionary activities in the capital city of Bangkok.

He was responsible for providing documents as well as coordinating support activities for the revolutionary movement in the country.

Monk Bao An personally sat in the car to ensure the first 10 tons of weapons were brought to Vietnam and arrived at Vam Ong port on July 11, 1946.

Today, in the temple grounds there is still a life-sized golden statue honoring Venerable Bao An.

In 2023, the overseas Vietnamese community in Thailand actively innovated and achieved many achievements in building great solidarity, promoting cultural traditions and contributing to the socio-economic development of each locality.

These achievements are thanks to the tireless efforts, solidarity, love for the community, love for the country of each member of the Thai overseas Vietnamese community, in addition to the dedicated help of the Thai Government , local authorities, the cooperation of organizations and the extremely important support of representative agencies, especially the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen.

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