Out of Norm Travels - July 2014 - Thai Annual Candle Festival - Ubon Ratchathani Day 1

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One of the most important festivals in the Thai Calendar and celebrated in a big way at the northern region of Ubon Ratchathani. Accessible via air, it took just about 1 hour for me to get away from the Bangkok city set-up to an unforgettable experience of a traditional festival in the thick of things. 

 I went down to Ubon a day earlier so that I could spend some time to go around town and head to the temples to see the work in progress before seeing all the candles / floats in all their glory. This is my account of Day 1 (day before the Festival)....

 Imagine you have spent 8 years in apprenticeship and having the honor of creating a 2m-sometimes 4m tall candle sculpture for one of the biggest candle parade of the Buddhist country. This festival celebrates the start of Buddhist Lent where the monks will mediate for 30 days in the mountains and only to descend from the mountain top at the end of Buddhist lent. 

From what I understand, there are a few ways  to construct the huge floats: the traditional way is done by carving each of the waxed candle figurines by hand - this process covered everything from the side pieces to the accompanying and main figurines. Each of the pieces are hand carved and molded together with hot iron seeped in red hot charcoal burners that I saw along the side of each float. Thankfully, I managed to catch in action a few temples still adopting this traditional approach to making the candle floats. 

 After speaking with the locals, I also realise that because of the costs (e.g. labour and materials etc), this traditional way of doing the candle floats are slowly making way for the "block work" approach where a plaster base is used and (thinner) waxed candle carvings are plastered on those blocks. This is a faster way to getting the floats ready for the massive candle festival parade. Here are some "back stage" captures from day 1....
2 types of approach towards candle making: "Block Work" on the Right or "Hot Iron" on the Left

Monks from outside the area also take the chance to drop by to admire the pieces being made

Monks often oversee the final touches to set-up and display 

There is a Part 2 to cover the float parade so stay tuned for more! 

 Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!  

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