BANGKOK, Jan 2 – In addition to countdown events celebrating the 2015 New Year, a popular activity in Thailand, more than 17 million devout Buddhists late December 31 joined in chanting prayers of celebration at temples countrywide, an announcement issued by the Ministry of Culture said.

This year’s Buddhist merit-making started at 11pm on New Year’s Eve, December 31, and finished at almost 1am on New Year’s Day.

Read more: MCOT