Wow, this single father in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, just really pulled it out of the bag for his two sons.
Chatchai Panuthai made sure his children Imsome, 3, and Ozone, 5, weren’t gonna miss out on any of the fun at a school event ahead of Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on August 12 in Thailand.
Close friend to Chatchai, Kornpat Ae Sukhom, caught the entire incident on camera and posted it to Facebook on August 9 much to the delight of social media users.
The video shows Panuthai and Ozone at the school’s Mother’s Day ceremony, during which children usually kneel at their mom’s feet as a sign of gratitude for everything they have done.
Sukhom’s video has since gone viral and received over 6,000,000 views as of Monday morning (August 13).
Mr Parnuthai said:
I’m a single dad so I just wanted to make sure that my two sons were happy.
I was a bit embarrassed, but it meant that they could take part like their classmates.
Fellow parent Kornpat Sukhom, 36, who also attended the event with her own children, heralded Parnuthai as the ‘best mother’.
Posted by Kornpat Ae Sukhom on Thursday, 9 August 2018
She added:
In Thailand if it’s Mother’s Day, every mother has to join in activities with their children at school.
The children’s parents are divorced and the mother is now living in Europe.
This is why he showed up to the school wearing a dress to take the place of her in the celebration.
He wanted the children not to feel left out because their mother had left them.
In Thailand, August 12 is celebrated as the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and the nation immerses in celebrations. As the Queen is also regarded as mother to all Thai people, this day is also celebrated as Mother’s Day.
Since 1976, the celebrations for Queen and for mother are held every year without fail with Thai people unanimously commemorating this day.
Not only limited to birthday celebration of the Queen, Thai people also take this day as an opportunity to thank their own mother for her unconditional love. Mother’s day morning in Thailand starts by giving alms to the monks.
Following the Thai tradition, kids kneel down before their mother to show their love and gratitude. They present her with white jasmine flowers or garlands, in return, the mother gives her blessings to the kids.
White jasmine flowers aren’t uncommon in Thailand as they symbolise maternal love. The white colour of the flower symbolises purity of mother’s true love, which will never change.
Charitable activities, donations, offering to monks are also an important part of the day to express child’s love and gratitude towards mother.
What a remarkable sentiment delivered by this father. Breaking down barriers and turning something that he and his sons may well dread into something light-hearted and interactive. An inspiration if I ever saw one.
Keep doing you, Chatchai. A gentleman and a scholar.
If you have a story you’d like to share, please email us at [email protected].
