This year’s festival saw Christians join a five-kilometre-long parade through the streets of Tha Rae yesterday evening. Festivalgoers carried an estimated 300 lanterns fashioned to resemble the Star of David on the route which ended at the town’s consecrated Roman Catholic church.
At the church, Christians marked this auspicious time of the year with the typical rites celebrated the world over. The parade is designed to represent the legendary odyssey the three wise kings took when searching for Bethlehem and the newborn baby Jesus.
Reporters covering the parade and subsequent religious rites say thousands of people took part. One reporter said that Thai residents of neighbouring provinces such as Nakhon Phanom and Kalasin together with overseas visitors joined in the festivities.
Thai Isarn community celebrates Xmas
News in Asia
Countless tourists joined members of Thailand’s biggest Christian community in celebrating Christmas yesterday. For several generations, residents of northeastern Sakhon Nakhon Province’s Tha Rae Town have paid homage to Christmas with their own matchless Star of David Festival.