Every year, the Vegetarian Festival or Kinje come in on the first to ninth days of the waxing moon of the ninth lunar month, which this year falls on October 3-11, for a total of nine days.
Aside from vegetarian food, yellow flags with Chinese characters or the Thai word "Jay" are frequently seen at this festival.
The vegetarian flag during the Vegetarian Festival will include red Chinese characters on a yellow background. The Chinese character 齋 or 斋, pronounced "Zai" or "Jay", means worship with body, words, and mind.
The color red on the flag represents auspiciousness and is widely utilized in Chinese auspicious rituals. The yellow parts of the flag is thought to signify Buddhism, since it matches the hue of Chinese monks' robes.
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Written, translated, and illustrated by: Ratchanok T.