August 12th of every year is a National Holiday here in Thailand as the Thai people celebrate H.M. the Queen’s birthday. This same day is also the day in which the Thai people celebrate Mother’s Day as they view Queen Sirikit to be the Mother of the Thai Nation. For the past few weeks we have seen much preparation around this area as government workers begin hanging new pictures to honor HM the Queen, street lights and even flowers along every major road.
Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara was born in 1932. Her parents were Mom Chao Nakkhatra Mangkala Kitiyakara and Mom Luang Bua Sanitvongse. Sirikit’s father was in the Diplomatic Corps and served in the Siam Royal Embassy in Washington DC, in London as Ambassador at the Court of St. James and in Paris as Ambassador to France. It was in Paris that Mom Rajawongse Sirikit was to first meet with the new King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej and their engagement was announced in 1949 on July 19th. Their wedding took place on April 28th 1950.
The Coronation of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej took place on May 5th 1950 and on that day, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit was honoured with the title Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. H.M. Queen Sirikit has won a place in the hearts of all the Thai people because of her tireless work on many projects to improve the lives of the Thai people and is especially concerned about conservation issues and traditional Thai handicrafts.
But this day isn’t just limited to honoring HM the Queen. It’s also used by the Thai people to honor their mothers, wives and grandmothers, thanking them for their unconditional love. The day usually starts by giving alms to the monks. Then, the children (no matter what age) will kneel before their mother to show their love and gratitude. They present her with white jasmine flowers or garlands, in return, mothers shower their blessings on their kids. On this day, white jasmine flowers are a common sight in Thailand as they are the symbol of maternal love. The white color of the flower symbolizes purity of mother’s true love, which will never change.
While this holiday is similar in some ways to what we celebrate as Mother’s Day back in the U.S., it is very much different… …And also a bit sad to think back to the families that we have left behind as we see our new neighbors gathering together as a family to spend the day together.
Ah, but such is life as new missionaries in Thailand…
(Large portions of the historical side of Thai Mother’s Day was taken from here.)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brook Sarver and Member Care Radio, AlStewart. AlStewart said: It's Mother's Day in Thailand today. For more: RT @two10eleven: Happy Thai Mother's Day everyone! // BLOG: http://bit.ly/ThaiMothersDay [...]