Thai Vegetarian Festival 2014: ‘Gin Jay’ Begins Today, Occurs Twice This Year For First Time In 182 Years, According To Chinese Lunar Calendar [VIDEO]

Today marks the beginning of the nine-day Thai Vegetarian Festival 2014, called "Prapheni Gin Jay" in Thai, which will occur twice this year for the first time in 182 years, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar.

According to NNT, Yuthasak Poomsurakul, Vice President for Marketing at CP All Public Company Limited, which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand, said that this year's Thai Vegetarian Festival 2014 is extra special because it will happen twice, from September 23 - October 2 and again from October 24 - November 2, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. This is the first time the "gin jay" Thai Vegetarian Festival has occurred twice in one year in 182 years, he said.

According to Thailand Breeze, "gin jay" is an annual vegetarian festival held in the ninth lunar month based on the Chinese calendar. It starts on the first day of the waxing moon and lasts for 9 days. The festival is mostly celebrated by Thai-Chinese. Some devout Buddhists "gin jay" all year. The main reasons are to cut down on the number of animals killed for food and to cleanse the body and mind. For more info about the festival, click here

Some devout followers also stay away from foods that have strong flavors, like onion, garlic, or spices, and usually eat vegan by cutting out products like eggs and milk.

For vegans in the US, it may be difficult to eat out without asking waiters or cashiers if certain products contain meat, dairy, or eggs. But in Thailand during the "gin jay" Vegetarian Festival, people are saved the trouble of asking - yellow flags hang above food that is vegetarian and vegan, similar to the "V" signs seen on some food in the US at more progressive establishments.

For more info on my personal "gin jay" journey, watch the video below!

Tags
vegetarian
Thailand
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