The Eastern Seaboard remembered “the beloved great king” who brought democracy to Thailand on Chulalongkorn Day.
Banglamung District Chief Naris Niramaiwong presided over the Oct. 23 alms-giving ceremony where rice and dried food were given to 57 monks. Afterward, the district chief laid a wreath on the King Rama V monument.
King Chulalongkorn was only 15 when he ascended to the throne in 1868, ruling until his death in 1910. He transformed the country, then called Siam, from a backward Asian land to a modern 20th century nation.
When he assumed power, Siam had no schools, roads, railways, hospitals or well-equipped military forces. To achieve the enormous task of modernization, he brought in foreign advisors and sent his sons and other young men abroad for education.
After his death, King Chulalongkorn was named Piya Maharaj, “the beloved great king” and he is commemorated every Oct. 23, the date of his death.
In Chonburi Gov. Pakarathorn Thienchai led military and police officers, civil servants and residents in offering flower garlands to King Chulalongkorn in front of Chonburi City Hall.
Later he led the public in an alms-giving ceremony with Pra Rachsittiwimol, abbot of Yai Intaram Temple, at the provincial hall. Here, too, rice and food were given to 57 monks, one for each year of the king’s life.
In Sattahip, District Chief Anucha Intasorn did the honors, leading the public and representatives from 30 organizations in laying wreaths in front of a portrait of King Rama V before giving alms to 57 monks at the district office.
