In
Laos, sticky rice is a national staple food and steeped in the Lao culture and religious traditions. Lao people use sticky rice to prepare
khao tom for ceremonies connected with the plantings, rainfall, harvest and death.
Khao tom is offered during the Lao
baci ceremony held to commemorate special occasions, such as starting a new job, marriage, housewarming, birth of a new baby, and celebration of
Lao New Year.
Khao tom is prepared for alms giving to monks during the annual religious events in buddhist temples. Furthermore,
khao tom is a popular snack sold during festivals, in markets and food stalls around the country. It was listed in a collection of recipes for favorite dishes of the former Lao royal family written by
Phia Sing (1898-1967), the king's personal chef and master of ceremonies. In
Thailand, the
Sai Krachat tradition (ประเพณีใส่กระจาด), also known as
Suea Krachat or
Soe Krachat in
Phuan language is a merit-making Buddhist tradition of the Thai
Phuan people of
Ban Mi District,
Lopburi Province. It takes place on the eve of the
Great Birth Sermon celebration. One day prior to the Sai Krachat Day, people wrap
khao tom and grind rice for
khao pun rice noodles. The next day is the Sai Krachat Day when people bring things such as bananas, sugar cane, oranges, candles, and
joss sticks or other items to put into bamboo baskets at the houses of the people they know, while the hosts bring prepared food to welcome their guests. When the visitors wish to go home, the hosts give
khao tom mat as a souvenir, called
Khuen Krachat. In
Thailand,
khao tom mat is the symbol of couples because for boiling usually the leaf wraps are bundled to sets of two. Thai people believe that if a pair of people offer
khao tom mat to monks on Khao Phansa Day, which is at the beginning of the 3 months of
Buddhist lent during the rainy season and the time when monks retreat to a
monastery and concentrate on
Buddhist teachings, married life will be smooth and love will be stable.
Khao tom mat is also a traditional Thai dessert for
Ok Phansa Day (the end of Buddhist lent in late October.), but it is then called
khao tom luk yon (). This variant is wrapped up in a young
mangrove fan palm leaf () with long-tails to hold before tossing them to a
Buddha image, after which
monks can carry them away. In 2014, the Department of Cultural Promotion under the Ministry of Culture registered
khao tom mat as an intangible cultural heritage, in the
Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe category, to prevent them from being lost along with other cultural heritage. ==See also==