Bangkok City Pillar Shrine flooded with devotees with new year wishes

Believers swarmed the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine on the occasion of welcoming another new year, seeking celestial blessings for a triumphant start to 2024.

The usually tranquil shrine, nestled on Lak Mung Road in the Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang sub-district of Phra Nakhon district, witnessed an unprecedented surge of faithful on New Year’s Eve, extending their spiritual quests well into the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Contrary to its conventional operating hours – a nightly closure at 6.30pm followed by a dawn reopening at 6.30am – the shrine’s custodians permitted devotees to grace the sacred grounds throughout the entire night on New Year’s Eve.

Eager participants, in pursuit of divine favour, engaged in an illuminating ritual involving the filling and lighting of lamps with kerosene oil. However, such was the overwhelming turnout that, come morning, officials struggled to replenish kerosene supplies swiftly enough to meet the fervent demands of the congregation, reported The Nation.

Whispers in the crowd hinted at a shared belief among the worshippers – a conviction that their prayers at this revered shrine on the auspicious New Year’s Day would usher in a year brimming with prosperity and fortune.

In related news, tourists flocked to Wat Kham Chanot Wang Nakee coinciding with the revered day of the full moon and the traditional Loy Krathong Festival on November 27. The shrine, located in Ban Muang, Ban Dung district, Udon Thani province, is dedicated to Nakee Island’s spiritual guardians, Grandfather Sri Sutho and Grandmother Ya Sri Pathum.

In other news, towering over the vibrant Ratchaprasong Square, Erawan Shrine, a haven to the Hindu god Brahma outshines seven other shrines dedicated to deities like Ganesha, Trimurti, Uma, Lakshmi, Chatumaharajika, Indra, and Narayana. But amidst the spiritual serenity, tragedy struck in 2015, when the Erawan Shrine became the unexpected target of a bombing, claiming 20 lives and injuring 125.

Shockingly, an ethnic Uighur dissident and an accomplice were arrested for this horrendous act that shook the tourist haven, particularly popular among Chinese visitors.