The existence of the tradition of Moon Festival in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province

Abstract

           This article aims to investigate the existence of the tradition of Moon Festival in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province. The data of this qualitative study were gathered from related documents, research reports, and in-depth interviews with Thai Chinese in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province.  The study found that the tradition of Moon Festival could be maintained with two types of adaptation. One is a ritual performed in the morning in which Thai Chinese take offerings to pay respect to the Goddess of the Moon at a shrine.  The other is a ritual performed at night at home with a shorter ritual of paying respect at an earlier time because  the working-age group of people has to wake up early in the morning to go to work.  Offering items have been changed to suit the modern time, and bought in smaller quantities due to the sluggish economy.  It can be said that the tradition of Moon Festival in Hat Yai can be maintained amidst social changes because Thai Chinese in Hat Yai unite to adapt the ritual and make it suitable for life in the age of globalization.