New Year Countdown is a new event for the Thai people organized as a religious ceremony to make merit. Novice monks are responsible to make certificates of participation and hand out bundles of a thin cotton string called sai sin. The string is unwound and attached to a canopy suspended above the participants head then held wound around the fingers or the head. The string acts like a wire transmitting the power generated by monks chanting sacred text.
Exploring Culture and the Photo Essay
