About this Holiday
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony (Raek Na Khwan) is an ancient Brahmin-Buddhist royal rite held at Sanam Luang in Bangkok to mark the official start of the rice-growing season. The ceremony involves royal oxen plowing ceremonial furrows while Brahmin priests predict the coming season's fortune based on the oxen's choices of food. As Thailand is historically an agricultural nation, the ceremony holds deep cultural significance; the exact date is determined annually by royal astrologers and Brahmin priests.