Celebrating the Queen's birthday by candlelight

The ceremony at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang was broadcast live, as people in other provinces also gathered at spots close to their homes and chanted “Long Live the Queen” with candles in their hands. 

Rituals and ceremonies to celebrate the Queen’s birthday have been staged for four days, with religious rituals starting last Friday at several temples.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her husband Anusorn Amornchat wished Her Majesty a happy birthday in writing in a book prepared for well-wishers to sign at the Grand Palace. 

Yingluck also led the candlelit ceremony in Her Majesty’s honour on the special occasion of the Queen’s 80th birthday at Sanam Luang last night. 

Because Her Majesty is regarded as the mother of the nation, her birthday is also officially National Mother’s Day. 

Many people use this occasion to express their love for their mothers – so for those mothers who could not be with their children yesterday, it was quite a sad day.

An official at a coordination centre in a Thai-Myanmar border zone said nine Thai mothers jailed at a Myanmar prison had written letters to their children for Mother’s Day. 

“They asked the Myanmar officials to please forward the letters to their children, who live in Thailand,” the official disclosed. 

The nine Thai mothers were among 92 Thais arrested in Myanmar last month for illegal entry and forest encroachment and sentenced to three and a half years in jail. 

Their message to their children was: “We miss you badly. But we will be patient and we hope you will too. Every day here seems like a year to us. But we still hope that the day we are looking for will not be too far way. PS. We hope Thai officials will help us and our other fellow Thais out of Myanmar prison soon.”

On the auspicious occasions of Her Majesty’s 80th birthday on August 12 and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 60th birthday on July 28, royal pardons were granted to about 30,000 convicts.