having realized the significance of this day king rama iv ordered the royal magha puja ceremony tobe performed in the emerald buddha temple in 1851 and to be continued forever. later the ceremony was widely accepted and performed throughout thekingdom. the day is declared as a public holiday so that people from all walk of life can go to the temple to make merit and perform other religious activities in the morning and to take part in the candlelit procession or 'wien tien' in thai in the evening.