Pha Sat Phueng procession is a traditional spiritual ritual associated with Bun That Luang Festival, with a long history in the Buddhist cultural life of Lao people. This is a ritual to show respect to Buddha, remember ancestors and pray for blessings for the family, becoming an indispensable activity every Bun That Luang season.
This year, the procession took place on November 4, 2025. From early afternoon, Buddhist delegations, agencies, organizations and families gathered at Si Muong Pagoda, prepared costumes and offerings before moving to That Luang in a solemn and respectful atmosphere.
At That Luang area, the procession carried or hugged Pha Sat Phueng around the tower three times according to tradition. After that, the delegations stopped at the back hall area to make offerings, where monks received offerings and performed chanting. In the echoing sound of the sutras, Buddhists listen to the teachings, direct their hearts to goodness, and maintain a pure and peaceful life.
Pha Sat Phueng can be a model of a temple architecture carried by many people, or it can be a tower shape to hug in front of the chest, with flowers made from beeswax around it in a bright yellow color.
On top are white lotus flowers or yellow chrysanthemums, surrounded by flower or money tassels, which have the same meaning as the custom of burning votive paper for the deceased in Vietnam. According to custom, each agency, unit, organization, family or individual can carry and worship a Pha Sat Phueng.
In the concept of Lao people, Pha Sat Phueng symbolizes purity and the wax flower towers are a typical image in Lao Buddhism.
Lao people do not worship at home, so carrying Pha Sat Phueng with offerings to the temple during the Thatluang festival is a wish to show filial piety to parents and accumulate virtue for their children and grandchildren.
Therefore, the Pha Sat Phueng procession at the Thatluang Festival has become an indispensable cultural feature in the spiritual life of Laos in general and the people of the capital Vientiane in particular.