Local media outlets have reported subdued Makha Bucha activity this year.
Many people have opted to prepare their own set of monk offerings, rather than buying pre-made offerings from vendors. Vendors have meanwhile reduced their supplies in anticipation of suppressed consumer spending.
It is customary in Thailand to visit temples, make merit, attend sermons and perform good deeds to celebrate the gathering held between the Lord Buddha and 1,250 of his first disciples. Giving monks offerings is also a major part of the celebration.
More and more people are favoring saving over spending and only making purchases on essential items.
Vendors are currently selling monk-offering baskets at around 100 to 300 baht each, with many blaming low sales on the economic downturn caused by the global pandemic. New COVID cases – fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant – are further discouraging people from performing religious activities outdoors.
One major Makha Bucha activity is the candle-lit circumambulation rite, which usually involves a mass gathering that puts participants at risk of contracting COVID-19. (NNT)
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