Nine Emperor Gods Festival facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nine Emperor Gods Festival
During the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, streets are filled with food stalls offering vegan Thai and Chinese food, e.g. buns and dim sums with mushrooms.
Official name	Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival
Observed by	Taoists
Significance	To commemorate to honour the gods on a large scale for nine days
Celebrations	Praying, eating pure vegan food
Observances	Offering food, burning joss paper, chanting of scriptures
Date	1st night of the 9th lunar month

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, celebrated primarily in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand by the taoist Chinese community. In Thailand, this festival is called thetsakan kin che (เทศกาลกินเจ), the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout Thailand, with the festivities at their height in Phuket, where over the half of the population is Peranakans. The Phuket Vegetarian Festival attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed. The Vegetarian Festival takes place at the same time as the Hindu festival Navaratri.

Celebration in Thailand

Vegan food

During the Vegetarian Festival, shops in Phuket and throughout Thailand display red and yellow jay flags (เจ) to indicate they are serving appropriate vegan food for observant participants. Vegan food is prepared because it is considered the most pure.

During the festival, food stalls sell Thai and Chinese food made without animal products. Noodle dishes, curries and soups are prepared without meat, fish sauce, eggs or dairy. Realistic vegetarian meats are used instead. The dishes are prepared without the use of garlic, chili, or strong spices. Many varieties of tofu are prepared and sold during the festival. Popular dishes are vegetarian pink noodle soup, which uses mushrooms to substitute pork blood cubes, fried tofu, deep-fried spring roll, and fried taro.

Self-purification

In addition to eating pure food, festival participants must keep their thoughts pure and wear white as a symbol of purity.

Festival locations

Phuket has the largest festival, but many other cities in Thailand celebrate the festival as well.

Bangkok and Chiang Mai also have many vendors selling vegan food during the festival. In 2023, the Michelin Guide-listed restaurant at the Carlton Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit advertised an extensive vegetarian menu for the festival. Hat Yai had more than 100 vegetarian food stalls during the 2022 festival. It was also reported that Chinese temples in Hat Yai stockpiled vegetarian food in advance of the festival and hired more people. Many tourists come from Malaysia.

Nan also has many vendors selling vegan food during the festival. The American chef Dan Sriprasert used the vegan recipes he learned to make at his mother's food stall in Nan during the festival to create the menu for the popular Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro in the United States.

Malls in Thailand participate in the festival that include the CentralWorld, Central Phuket, Central Pattana, and Central Hatyai.

Economic impact

The Vegetarian Festival has significant economic impact on the nation. In 2023, the festival was forecast to generate revenue of 44.6 billion baht, a forecast 5.5% increase over 2022 revenue and the highest in 10 years.

Introduction to the Nine Emperor Gods

The characters เจ as often shown on stickers or flags to indicate that food is vegetarian. The characters have been stylised to be more reminiscent of Chinese writing.

The Nine Emperor Gods Jiǔ Huáng Xīng Jūn / Jiǔ Huáng Da Di (九皇星君/九皇大帝) are the nine sons manifested by Father Emperor Zhou Yu Dou Fu Yuan Jun (斗父周御國王天尊) and Mother of the Big Dipper Dou Mu Yuan Jun (斗母元君) who holds the Registrar of Life and Death. Today, most Nine Emperor God temples do not acknowledge the existence of Dou Fu Yuan Jun. However, Dou Fu Yuan Jun is invoked alongside Dou Mu Yuan Jun in Great Dipper Honouring known as Li Dou (禮斗) ceremonies.

Altar of the Second Emperor of the Nine Emperor Gods Altar at Leong Nam Temple, Singapore.

According to Rev. Long Hua, the 35th generation Taoist priest from Singapore, honouring the Northern Dipper stars prolongs one's life, eliminate calamities, and absolves sins and past debts of oneself and his family. The term Ye (爺) as in Jiu Huang Ye (九皇爺) loosely translates as "Grandfather", a title worshipers commonly use to bring a more intimate relationship between themselves and the Nine Emperors. The Nine Emperor Gods should not be mixed up with the Wang Ye or Princes of the Ming loyalists. Popular folk culture has it that the Nine Emperor Gods are actually loyalists of the Ming dynasty who fought against Qing dynasty. According to Long Hua, this information is inaccurate and considered derogatory to the actual teachings of Taoism as the Nine Emperor Gods are actually high-ranking Star Lords who preside over the movement of planets and coordinate mortal Life and Death issues. The Nine Emperors is formed by the seven stars of the Big Dipper of the North Ursa Major (visible) and two assistant stars (invisible to most people). The Nine Emperor Stars are:

1. Tan Lang Tai Xing Jun (貪狼太星君)1st Star (Visible) Bayer: α UMa
2. Ju Men Yuan Xing Jun (巨門元星君) 2nd Star (Visible) Bayer: β UMa
3. Lu Cun Zhen Xing Jun (祿存貞星君) 3rd Star (Visible) Bayer: γ UMa
4. Wen Qu Niu Xing Jun (文曲紐星君) 4th Star (Visible) Bayer: δ UMa
5. Lian Zhen Gang Xing Jun (玉廉貞綱星君) 5th Star (Visible) Bayer: ε UMa
6. Wu Qu Ji Xing Jun (武曲紀星君) 6th Star (Visible) Bayer: ζ UMa
7. Po Jun Guan Xing Jun (破軍關星君) 7th Star (Visible) Bayer: η UMa
8. Zuo Fu Da Dao Xing Jun (左輔大道星君) 8th Star (Invisible)
9. You Bi Da Dao Xing Jun (右弼大道星君) 9th Star (Invisible)

Nine Emperor Gods Festival celebration in popular folk culture

On the eve of the lunar ninth month, temples dedicated to Nine Emperor Gods will conduct an important ceremony to invoke and welcome the Nine Emperor Gods. Since the arrival of the Nine Emperor Gods is believed to be descending through the waterways, processions are held from temples to the seashore or river to symbolize this belief. Devotees dressed in traditional white, carrying incense and candles, await for their arrival.

A carnival-like atmosphere pervades the temple throughout the nine-day festival. During this period of time, the constant tinkling of a prayer bell and chants from the temple priests or mediums are heard. Most devotees stay at the temple, eat vegetarian meals, maintain celibacy and recite continuous chanting of prayer. It is believed that there will be rain throughout the nine days of the celebration.

The ninth day of the festival is its climax. An important procession that draws thousands of devotees to send the Nine Emperor Gods back via waterways.

Gallery

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  People gathering around an am from early morning to witness piercing ceremony and to participate in the parade afterwards

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  Masong are getting ready to participate in the morning parade starting from one of the am in Western Phuket

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  Masong pending to have his cheeks pierced

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  Piercing is supervised by medical staff and performed using special instruments

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  Female masong

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  Parades usually start at 9 minutes past the hour, disrupting traffic during morning rush hours. The procession walks from an ahm to Phuket town.

See also

• Doumu (斗母元君)
• Tou Mu Kung Temple, Singapore
• Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia
• Wang Ye worship
• Birthday of the Monkey God
• Monkey King Festival
• Zhong Yuan Festival
• List of vegetarian festivals