Um Phra Dam Nam - Thailand

Each year, the fifteenth day of the waning moon of the 10th month of the Thai lunar calendar, people in Petchabun, northern city of Thailand near Phitsanulok celebrate Um Phra Dam Nam, a unique tradition only held in this northern town. It consists of bathing and washing a Buddha statue in the river Pah Sak.
This festival is an old tradition dating back 400 years ago. According to local history, the Buddha statue was found in the river. Believers in the city sheltered the statue in Wat Trai Phum sanctuary but after some time they found it again in the waters. They then deduced that the statue was going to wash itself in Pah Sak river. Since then, every year they transport it from the sanctuary to the river during a beautiful ceremony.
The ritual begins at 1.00 am. The statue is paraded through the city before being placed under a canopy at Wat Trai Phum to enable believers to worship, pray and cover it with gold leaves. In the evening, the main prayers begin, there are songs and folk dance performances. The next morning, food offerings are made to the monks before taking the Buddha statue to the river Pah Sak for ritual bathing.
After this ceremony, the river is considered sacred and the public plunges and drinks its water. The festival closes with a traditional boat race.