Doors Ceremony/Gate Ceremony
This ceremony is what the Thais call ‘sanuk’ with plenty of laughter and frivolity most of which comes at the expense of the groom as he is teased and gently ribbed by the bride’s family. The bride remains inside the house when the khan maak procession arrives. To make sure that the groom is worthy and financially able to take care of his bride, he must be able to open the symbolic doors or gates. The number of doors or gates can vary from region to region, but typically there is a gold and silver gate represented by a gold or silver belt or ribbon which is held by two female members of the bride’s family. The silver gate is known in Thai as ‘pratoo ngoen’ and the gold gate as ‘pratoo tong’. To open the gate the groom must be able to provide a ‘key’. This key comes in the form of an envelope with money inside. The groom may be given a hard time as the gate guardians joke and tell him the money isn’t enough to gain access. As he reaches each gate the amount asked for will be more and there is lots of cheering as each gate is successfully opened. Depending on circumstances it can either be the groom or his father that hands over the money envelopes to the gate guardians.