The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is observed in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, beginning on the eve of the 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. This nine-day festival celebrates the Nine Emperor Gods, who are believed to be the nine sons of Father Emperor Zhou Yu Dou Fu Yuan Jun and Mother of the Big Dipper Dou Mu Yuan Jun. The festival features traditional ceremonies at temples to welcome the deities, with festive processions held from the temples to the sea or river, as it is believed the gods arrive through waterways. Additionally, the festival is known as the Vegetarian Festival in Thailand and Singapore, where followers abstain from meat to purify their bodies. Notably, the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket attracts tourists due to its unique and intense rituals, where participants may engage in self-mutilation under a trance-like state.