Wat Pho hosts chanting ceremony to welcome the New Year

People have gathered in the ordination hall of Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram, or ‘Wat Pho’ in Bangkok, to pay homage to the Reclining Buddha and to participate in a New Year’s Eve chanting ceremony.

The event has been organised by the Department of Religious Affairs in the Ministry of Culture and offers the public an opportunity to practice Dharma during the New Year festival, in pursuit of good fortune.

More than 5,000 chairs have been arranged for those attending the ceremony, which is being held from 7.00pm to midnight tonight.

Similar ceremonies are being held at temples across Thailand, as the tradition is believed to be propitious, bidding farewell to the old year and heralding the arrival of the new one.