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With the passing of the monsoon season, Thailand awakens with a roar, ready to celebrate after months of rainy day captivity. Celebrations are abundant across the country but none are as vibrant and beautiful as in Sakhon Nakorn, where radiant shades of orange appear everywhere for a magical week of wax castle building.

Buddhist Lent coincides with the rainy season. Each year, wan ok phansa marks the end of Buddhist Lent, calling for a great celebration by all. For this auspicious occasion, even the farmers stop their labors in the fields to rejoice and celebrate. Gigantic wax castle floats are built within the communal property of the wats for the festivities so that when the temple doors open, it is like an explosion of sun rays with marigold castles and saffron-draped monks.

During Buddhist Lent it is customary for the monks to re-main in the temple studying Buddhist scriptures. All outside activities are curtailed to a minimum during the three-month confinement to allow the monks time for studying, teaching and meditating. For the Buddhist lay people it is a time when one can accrue even greater merit by bringing morning alms offerings directly to the temples.

The custom of creating beeswax castles dates back to ancient times and tremdous time and labor goes into the carving of these intricate temple-shaped castles. The huge constructions are judged on their beauty and then paraded through the city with Isaan pageantry. The building of these wax temple sculptures is an important aspect of merit -making for the people of Sakhon Nakorn and a chance to demonstrate their respect for Lord Buddha. While over the years the festival has become - outwardly more commercial, to the people of lsaan the castle building is still very much an avenue linking the past with an opportunity for communal bonding.

Legends about the Wax Castle Festival as they relate to the Buddha abound. One such story tells of the Buddha spending his ninth Buddhist Lent under a big sala tree in Palilai Forest where he was taken care of by an elephant and a monkey. The animals prepared food for him, the elephant bringing nectar and the monkey honey. A tragedy struck the monkey after. delivering the honey when a branch fell and pierced his heart. The monkey was reborn as a deity and placed in a high, beautiful castle. It is said that whenever the Buddha saw a beehive he remembered the goodness of the monkey who cared for him. Merit-makers therefore associate the building of these exquisite beeswax castles with the hope that they will also be reborn into a better life.

Over the years the festival has changed and grown and today many communities outside the main city participate for the cash awards given. Contest rules for building the castles call for the use of natural products - banana, palm, bamboo, coconut, and beeswax. In the past, the processional floats were moved by non-motorized vehicles such as oxcarts or palanquins, but today, because of the distance and immense size of some of the floats, several are placed on flatbed trucks. The community makes an effort to preserve as much of the tradition and local character in the procession as possible, so oxcarts are still prevalent, making the parade even more charming.

The beauty of the finished wax castles is breathtaking, with the intricate detail-work making proportions balanced for unity and consistency. The castles' compositions need to preserve the style and image of the traditional prathat, the library for Bud-dhist scriptures. The artists go into great details designing stair¬cases with railings of naga, the divine serpent, temple roofs with chatas, representing the giant mythical bird garuda, and multitudes of elephants at the base of the temples.

Watching the procession as it winds past, one can catch a glimpse' of the many different cultures that coexist within this province. Intricately woven together into one large community are six different subcultures: the Yow, the Yoi, the Ga Leung, the Soh, the Phu Thai, and the Thai Lap. Each culture proudly displays their heritage by wearing traditional colorful silks and. cottons, silver and bead ornaments while playing ancestral instruments, dancing, or just singing with great pleasure. Swaying to the eerie music of one village, and then tapping to the tribal drums of the next, spectators and participants are enchantingly drawn into a different world.

Festivals are wonderful venues for people watching as the villagers are dressed in their finest. Children are exuberant. Thai smiles are abundant and local vendors are plentiful. A special treat at any festival is a trip down vendor lane - especially that of the food vendors. The smells are tantalizing, the variety of foods intriguing. At this festival there are vendors selling exotic fruits and sweets and succulent grilled chicken, fish and squid. Other vendors offer boiled chickens and ducks while slabs of pork dangle from hooks, prepared and waiting for soup or curry. A favorite of the Isaan people is fried insects, so several booths have mounds of cockroaches, beetles and grasshoppers. Smiling vendors entice everyone to try their specialties.

There is something of interest for each family member during the week's festivities: boat races, dinners, fireworks, beauty contests, local music, and Thai boxing. The Wax Castle Festival even boasts the world's largest baisri paan or traditional serving tray which is built each year especially for the occasion. The Thai people enjoy their festival; it is sanuk maak, great fun, and often you will be invited to join a gathering for a meal or just an exchange of friendly smiles.

The magical festivities come to an end with the melting of most wax castles to provide the materials for the coming year. The rains have now been declared officially over. Families re-turn to their villages and their finery is put away. The rice growing season is almost finished but for the people of Isaan, the life circle continues with the approach of harvest time.