Or Ploughing for the Brits. It’s today (Thursday). Not an official holiday, but all civil servants do get today off instead of Labor Day last week on May 1 like everyone else did. It’s performed annually in Bangkok’s Sanam Luang to predict the coming year’s rice harvest. Cambodia held their version last Saturday, and a bad harvest was predicted.
The excellent 2bangkok.com website has this to say about it:
"Today is Ploughing Day. This ancient Brahmin rite has been celebrated in many ways in Thailand over the years with Buddhist elements added in the Rama IV era. The modern one-day version of the ceremony (and reintroduction of the ploughing itself) dates from 1960.
“The actions of the oxen pulling the plough are said to foretell a good or bad growing season. In recent times large crowds gather at Sanam Luang to witness the event and collect the seeds used in the ceremony.”