The History of Bee's Wax Castle

Wax castle festival at Sakonnakorn province
Wax Castle Festival is held at the end of the Buddhist Lent. Northeasterners celebrate the end of the annual Buddhist Rains Retreat (Ok Phansa ) by constructing beeswax creations in the form of miniature Buddhist temples and shrines (wax castles). This wax castle is usually presented to the province's Phra Maha That relic as a tribute to the Lord Buddha at the end of the Buddhist Lent Day. People in the northeast (I-san) especially at Sakon Nakorn province mould beeswax into miniature Buddhist temples and wax castles in order to gain merit, which will determine their future rebirth. It is said that this festival of Sakon Nakorn dates from the time of King Suwannaphingkhan. He had his subjects make Ton Phoeng (wax trees) for the end of the Buddhist Lent and placed them in a procession to pay homage to Phra That Choeng Chum. The people of Sakon Nakhon have continued his tradition ever since. The event represents a traditional meri-making in the form of wax castle procession.

Ok Phansa Day marks the end of the Buddhist lent and falls on the full moon of the eleventh lunar month (October 21st,2002). This is a day of joyful celebration and merit-making. For Thai families, it is also the day they welcome a son back into the home and celebrate his successful completion of a term in the temple during Khao Phunsa period.


The beautiful beewax's castle in original style of the ancient people
 Wax castle are mostly made in Sakon Nakorn province since the ancient times because of the following reasons and objectives
1. To make merit for the passing away of forefather.
2. To wish for living in the happy home as a castle and being wealthy if they aer reborn to be human, or living in the beautiful castle in which many beautiful angels are waiting to take car if they are is bron in the heaven.
3. To bring about the unity among people in jointly making merit.
4. To encourage people from all walks of life to jointly make merit by donating their money as much as they pleased to for making the wax castles.

The wax castle celebration in Sakon Nakorn will start on the third day before the Buddhist Lent will be over. It is organized to pay homage to Phra That Choeng Chum. The procession also brings good luck to participants. The end of the Buddhist Lent is the day when the festival is held.

For the people of I-San, traditions are tantamount to merit-making. The offering of wax castle represents one such tradition. In a funeral where members of the bereaved family make merit in memory of the deceased. When they offer food to monks, they also offer them the wax castle so that the deceased also benefits from this gesture of merit-making. The tradition was eventually adopted by the local folks and elaboration was added. The Buddhists of Sakon-Nakhon in the vicinity of Phra That Choeng Chum believe that making merit at the end of Buddhist Lent coincides with the day when the three worlds see the livelihood of one another and by divine power, the people could see the wax castles they made as offering. Every year therefore, villagers come to Phra That Choeng Chum with their wax castles as offerings.

The beautiful Beeswax castle at Sakhonakorn province