As to the northeastern people, they have a unique festival called name bun bangfai or the Rocket Festival. It is held at the beginning of the rainy season as an annual plea to god for plenty of rainfall. A legend has it that once a god called Phaya Thaen, who was the most powerful in heaven, and was in charge of the regulation of rainfall in the world, was angry with the animals on earth. To retaliate, he stopped the rain completely, causing distress to all creatures. Greatly troubled, the animals made war with Phaya Thaen twice, but were defeated on both occasions.
Later, Phaya Khankhak, a former incarnation of the Buddha, mobilized those animals to fight against Phaya Thaen and they won in the end. As a result, Phya Thaen had to promise that if during the sixth lunar month (roughly corresponding to May) each year, bamboo rockets were launched on earth, he would not fail to make the rain fall.
This year the Rocket Festival is scheduled to be held from 12 to 13 May in Yasothon Province. Other northeastern provinces also feature the Rocket Festival but not of the same grand scale as Yasothon Province.