Kin Jay: genesis and evolution

Jitra Kornantakiat, a local expert in Chinese culture and traditions, said that while the origins of the festival in Thailand are unclear, records show that it has been celebrated here for at least two centuries.

Jitra Kornantakiat.

"The oldest shrine built for the purpose of marking the vegetarian festival is Siu Hok Tua in Amphawa, Samut Songkhram," she said. "It is now 202 years old. The oldest in Bangkok proper is the Sin Heng Tua shrine in Yaowarat, which is about 130 years old."

The Kin Jay festival in the central region differs in several ways from that celebrated in the South. In Bangkok, where most Thai-Chinese residents are descended from Taechew-speaking immigrants, the festival comes from a belief that at this time of year nine deities, the so-called Emperor Gods, descend from the heavens. "To show that we are doing good, such as by not harming animals, it is believed that we will earn extra merit points [by abstaining from meat]."

Down south, where most Thai-Chinese are of Hokkien ancestry, it's a different story altogether, Jittra said. There, people eat vegetarian food to honour a constellation of nine stars that resembles the shape of a ladle _ which Westerners know variously as the Great Bear or Big Dipper _ believing that by doing so they they will prolong their lives. In ancient times the Chinese apparently worshipped the North Star, believing it was the mother of that constellation of nine stars.

The two separate traditions have become intermingled with the passage of time, however. Jitra noted that the Hokkien custom of putting on fire-walking displays during the festival can now be witnessed in Bangkok, too, while a bowl-floating ritual, once the sole preserve of Taechew speakers in the Central Plains, can be seen in southern towns like Phuket or Trang. Nowadays, there are several Hokkien shrines to be found in Bangkok as well as a few Taechew shrines down south.

reference  http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/258475/kin-jay-genesis-and-evolution