Bubble tea the new holy offering? Thai temple visitors think so
PUBLISHED ONAugust 22, 2019 11:48 AMByRainer Cheung
Rather than the usual fruits, flowers and incense, has bubble tea become the offering of choice for Thai Buddhist devotees?
In a photo posted on Aug 18 by a food blogger known as Payunbud, various bubble teas can be seen lined up on a table meant to hold offerings at a temple in Thailand.
Obviously, as boba-addicted Asians, everyone was absolutely tickled by it.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Payunbud/status/1163046180969824257[/embed]
Not to mention, it seemed as though a lot of care and dedication was put into the drinks selection. The drinks were mostly from well-known brand names and covered all the boba-bases - cheese tea, Taiwanese milk tea, Hokkaido fresh milk, taro milk tea and even fruit tea!
[embed]https://twitter.com/Payunbud/status/1163053749801111554[/embed]
The post on Facebook has since raked up 8,300 shares while its Twitter counterpart gained a whopping 85,100 retweets.
In Thailand, it's customary to present votive offerings to the gods — people would pray for their wishes to come true, promising offerings in return should they be granted. Flowers and food items are traditionally offered, but it would seem like the gods don't have to miss out on our modern-day pleasures too.
Wrote one commenter: "The gods also drink bubble tea. They're bored of Nam Daeng."
Nam Daeng refers to the bright red soda (usually red Fanta) that are typically offered to the gods.
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It would also seem that whoever it was that had placed the bubble tea offerings had plenty of other like-minded friends too.
Payunbud tweeted an exchange with a netizen, who shared that she had told Lord Ganesha that she would offer five cups of bubble tea in exchange for her wish to be granted. It would seem that Lady Luck had smiled upon her and her prayer was heard.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Payunbud/status/1163451589522100225[/embed]
Another netizen shared a photo of a cup of bubble tea she had bought. In her tweet, she explained that she had also visited the same god to pray for a job. Once she got the position, she presented the drink as her votive offering.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Kurobara_Black/status/1163057909808287746[/embed]
Some went even further as to present both Nam Daeng and bubble tea.
[embed]https://twitter.com/Payunbud/status/1163062834822991872[/embed]
Of course, excessive consumption of sugary bubble tea would present a health risk to most of us. Thankfully, mortal woes aren't one to trouble the gods.
Despite the largely positive response towards modern-day offerings in an ancient and traditional setting, some still felt it was rather inappropriate to present bubble tea in a temple.
Perhaps next time you could consider offering some freshly fried KFC instead?
[embed]https://twitter.com/pare_bbc/status/1163125836993552385[/embed]